Letters
by PossiblyAGinger
Summary: For a mute boy and talkative girl, writing letters to one another is the thing that keeps their bond so strong. (Skyward Sword backstory)
1. The Things We Said When Our Mouths Never

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own any aspect of _Skyward Sword _or anything in the _Legend of Zelda_ franchise.**

* * *

Cold rain pounded against her window as she stared out of it, occasionally flinching from the boom of thunder, or flash of lightning. Storms were rare here, extremely rare. This was only the second one her father had ever seen in his life. And he was nearing fifty.

Thunder boomed, sending waves of deep noise straight into her pointed ears. She screamed and jumped onto her bed, hiding herself underneath the protection of the quilt her mother had given her when she just a baby. It was all she had left of her. The only memory she really had was this quilt. There were the poorly drawn pictures her father had made, but she knew that wasn't what she would ever look like. Her father talked about her often. How she looked just like her mother. How she had her eyes, her hair, the same exact smile. It made her want to meet her mother more and more. Yet she knew she'd never be able to.

She couldn't tell whether or not it was the fact that she was under the covers and it was quiet, or if the rain was stopping. She could hardly hear anything now. Maybe it had stopped. She hoped it had. She just wanted the terrifying thing to be over with.

She removed the quilt from her head and wrapped it around her like a cloak. It made her feel safe, even though she knew that it could never defend her against anything.

She walked over to the window, gazing out of it and looking at the city below her. There wasn't much to look at, however. The city was just a piece of floating rock. There were only about fifty people on it, probably less. She could see the Bazaar and a tree from her window. The tree was her favorite. It was the biggest one that they had on the floating rock- Skyloft, was its name- and she often spent her days sitting underneath it, joking with her older friend, Karane, about the strangest things.

Yet, there was a boy out there, sitting underneath the tree, as the rain still poured on from above.

His soaking wet hair hung over his face, and it looked like the color clay. She wondered what it would look like if it were dry, not dripping with the rain. He wore a simple white shirt, but that was now practically see-through and stuck to his upper torso. Brown pants, the same color as his hair, were on his legs. It was a simplistic outfit, really. Most of the boys around her age wore something kind of similar, just with a bit more… individuality. She couldn't see his face, but she didn't recognize what she could see of him. She knew most of the kids that lived in Skyloft, but that didn't necessarily mean all of them. She knew of a girl, about her age, that lived with her father at the Lumpy Pumpkin in another part of the sky. She wanted to meet her some day. Maybe she would.

Suddenly, lightning flashed, and the girl hopped back away from her window in fear. She wanted to know what the boy was doing. Was he as scared as she was?

Cautiously, she peered her head out the window. The boy's head was turned away from here, darting spastically from side to side in a state of panic. He looked worse than she did. But why wouldn't he go inside?

The girl was surprised when the boy's head whipped around and he looked straight at her. It wasn't the fact that he saw her that surprised her. It was his eyes.

They were a crystalline ocean blue, almost the exact color that hers were. Nearly everyone on the island had brownish-black yes, with only a few exceptions, herself included. There was Groose; he was an abnormality all by himself, with his crimson hair and gargantuan size. But Groose's eyes were yellow, almost the color of dead grass, not blue. Not the color of her eyes. Not the color of the boys'. It was certainly a different sight to see, having never seen anything similar, except when looking into a mirror.

She shivered to herself, backing away from the window and sitting on the edge of her bed, thinking about what she could do. Maybe she could help the boy out? It seemed like the best option. But going out in the rain… that didn't seem like an option she could bring herself to do. But maybe…

She suddenly shot up out of her bed and flung her door open, sprinting over to her Father's room and tapping the door lightly.

"Daddy, daddy! There's a boy outside!" she exclaimed, her high pitched voice edged with concern. She could hear fast footsteps, and the large, white doors that lead into her father's study opened.

Her father was certainly an interesting man. Even at his somewhat young age, he was nearly bald, and whatever hair he had was all gray. His eyebrows and hair were connected, arching in a semi-circle to form things that looked like horns. He had a tiny, triangular goatee on his chin, and a rectangular mustache resting above his lips. He was a rather large man as well, towering over his small daughter. It made sense for that to be true, but he even towered over the other teachers at the Academy where they lived.

"What do you mean, Zelda? Storms are dangerous here, and everyone knows to be inside during this time. Any responsible person would keep their kid inside." he said, half talking to Zelda, and the other half was wondering himself if this was actually true.

"I'll show you, daddy. Come on!" she said, wrapping her tiny hand around her fathers wrist as she pulled him towards her room. She ran over to her window in excitement, pointing at the tree where the boy was still sitting. "Look!"

Her father lowered himself and looked out the circular window. Indeed, there was a boy, about the same age as his daughter. He couldn't fathom why he would be out there, all alone. Where were his parents? Actually, why was he out there in the first place? The entire situation was a puzzling one. Even more puzzling was the fact that the boy was unrecognizable. He knew everyone in the entirety of Skyloft, even the people who lived on the outskirts and little sections of land. Not once had he ever seen this peculiar boy.

Zelda turned to face her father, staring up at him with large, aegean eyes. "Can I go and fetch him? I don't want him to be scared, daddy." she wondered, tilting her head to the side in a state of curiosity.

Her father opened his mouth to speak, taking a sharp intake of breath before stopping quickly. He knew it would be better for him to go and do what she was asking, but for some reason, he felt the urge to trust Zelda and let her do this rather than himself. He closed his gaping mouth, placing a large, calloused hand on his daughters shoulders, and crouching down even more so he was the same height as her.

"Yes, Zelda. Be extraordinarily careful, I don't want you to get hurt. I'll be right at the front door, just yell if you need me." he said, smiling as her face lit up in a toothy smile that occupied her entire face. She threw her feeble arms around her father's neck.

"Thank you!" she squealed, quickly taking off out of the room, quilt still wrapped around her like a cloak. Her father chuckled to himself, slowly standing up and walking to the door. He turned around as he grabbed the framing, looking out the window one last time before closing the door. He heard the front ones slam quickly, and realized Zelda was already searching for the boy. He hurried a bit, going down the large, curved staircase to the main floor, and over to the large doors that led outside. He opened them quickly, covering his head as he walked over the the front gate that was open enough for a small girl to get through. He flinched as lightning flashed behind him. He still wasn't used to this experience. He didn't think anyone was.

Zelda raced down the dirt path she had gone down thousands of times before. It wasn't really that long of a ways away, but she didn't want to be in the rain for that much longer. She thought it would help her conquer the small fear she had. It didn't.

The rain was extremely weird. It just kept falling, like little tiny leaves pelting at her body. Sure, it didn't seem to hurt that much for the first few times, but the longer it went on, the more tediously annoying it became. And the fact that she was a soaking mess added to the annoyance of it.

She slowed herself down as she neared the tree, coming to a stop right behind the stairs that led up to the Bazaar. Sure enough, the boy was still sitting there, head looking down at his lap. There wasn't a dry spot on him; he was completely soaked from head to toe. She didn't understand how he could be standing this, sitting openly in the rain for however long he had been.

Zelda took a step forwards, and stepped on a branch. The noise startled the boy; his head whipping up in surprise at the noise's location. They both stared at each other, nearly copying the others apprehension.

"Who...who are you? I know everyone in Skyloft, but I've never seen you before." Zelda questioned, taking a few small steps over towards the boy, reaching her hand out to help him up off the ground. He shook his head, looking down at his knees as he scooted backwards away from her, once for every step she took towards him. She drew her hand back, surprised at the boys' sudden shyness and fear of trusting her. She made friends easily; no one had really ever been scared of her before. It was something she wasn't used to. And she hated it.

Her nostrils flared, fists clenching up into balls and knuckles turning as white as the clouds when rain wasn't present. "Why won't you trust me? I just want to help you!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot on the ground and sending drops of muddy water all over herself and the boy. She gasped, looking at the little brown stains that dotted her quilt. It stained the little pink dress that she was wearing, and the stark-white pants. It got in her bright yellow hair, as well. She looked over at the boy, afraid that maybe he had something priceless like she did, possibly ruined his already filthy clothes. And she instead found him smiling to himself, his blue eyes dancing with amusement.

"Stop it!" she yelled, stomping her foot yet again, only this time softer so she wouldn't spray any more water. The boy did as she said, eyes wide as he stared up at her face. Nervousness now filled them, and his face was contorted in a flinch. He knew he had done something wrong. It was written all over his raindrop-stained face.

"Zelda! Silence!" her father yelled, slowly running over to the two young children. He ran fast enough so she wouldn't say anything she'd regret, but slow enough so he wouldn't trip on the slick ground. He quickly got to the spot where they were. "You said you were here to help the boy, not yell at him." Zelda nodded, a solemn look painted on her fair face. He then looked down at the soaked boy, glancing at his excessively small stature. You could see the bones sticking out of his arms, how hollow and empty his face looked. Zelda wouldn't be able to notice this; she was merely a child. But nonetheless, the boy was severely malnourished. It was something he hadn't really ever seen in this town before.

Yet, oddly enough, the skeletal boy shot up onto his feet the second that he looked back to Zelda. Out of the corners of his eyes, he could see the boys own, wide and staring intently at him. It wasn't a look of fear or shock, but rather one of respect and past knowledge. It bothered him that he couldn't quite place why this boy would understand who he was.

He knelt down to be the same height as the boy, similar to what he did with Zelda mere minutes ago. The boy stared at him with intensity, eyes never wavering or blinking. It was strange, to say the least. All of Zelda's friends smiled, or didn't dare to look him in the eyes for more than three seconds at a time. Instead, he stared as if it were a staring contest that his life depended. This boy was breaking all of the normal situations that he was used to.

"What is your name, young one?" Gaepora asked, reaching a hand out to rest on the boy's shoulder. He flinched, pressing his back against the tree, and closed his eyes. His shoulders rose upwards, sitting as close to his face as possible. It was like he was expecting something bad to happen. The mystery surrounding this boy grew and grew with each passing minute.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," Gaepora stated, pulling his arms up towards his face, almost like he was showing innocence. "I'm just going to need you to trust me."

The boy then opened his eyes and looked at Gaepora 's hands, blinking a couple of times out of confusion. He then looked at Gaepora , his look of seriousness replaced by fear and innocence. It was obviously something to do with him trying to reach out to him in an act of comfort. But the boy closed his eyes again and took in a breath, then nodded his head. Gaepora smiled, motioning for the boy to follow him.

"Come on, you two. Let's go back to the Academy." he said, turning around and walking back. Zelda scurried over to his side and wrapped her tiny hands in his large ones. He stretched his ears slightly, hearing the boy's light footsteps behind him.

In the time in which he had encountered the boy, he hadn't even noticed that the rain had stopped.

Gaepora smiled to himself, squeezing his daughter hand lightly. The group of three walked over to the Academy, walking slower than they had before. Since the rain was gone, there was no need to fear anything.

When they arrived, they walked up to Gaeporas' office. The boy left a trail of dirty water and mud behind him. It was like he was leaving a path for him to follow when he was going to leave. As if Gaepora was going to let him leave without figuring out where he was going to stay, or who his parents were. The chances of that were slim to none.

Gaepora reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a rusty metal key. He slipped it through the lock and unlocked the door to his office. He turned around, looking down at the small boy. He held both of his hands behind his back, and his head was pointed down to look down at his feet. His hair was still dripping, forming a small puddle on the ground in front of him.

Gaepora released Zelda's hand and patted her on the back, somewhat "pushing" her into his office. "Go on, it'll be okay." he said, smiling at the small boy. He raised his head up, his blue eyes peering into Gaepora's brown ones. He gave a small smile, and started shuffling fowards into his office. Gaepora watched, and when the boy was in the office, he shut his door with a light click.

Zelda rushed over behind his desk, launching her tiny self up onto the large chair that sat behind his wooden desk. She looked down at it, then back at the boys hair. They were an extraordinarily similar color. She knew of another boy, Keet, who had hair of a similar color. But he was much taller, and older, than she was. He was enrolling into the Knight Academy the following year, according to her father.

The boy, however, looked completely afraid of the room in which he was in. He stood cowering in the corner closest to the door, almost eager to escape the room as quickly as he could. Gaepora walked over to another chair, seated next to a large bookshelf on the western wall of the room, opposite of the boy. He sat himself down, relaxing in the chair, even though it was hard and wooden. He looked over at Zelda, who sat with her legs crossed, and quilt draped over her lap. He then turned to the boy, whose head was yet again pointed at the ground.

"Pardon me for asking again, but what is your name, child?" he questioned once more, hoping to get an answer this time, rather than a flinch and fear. The boy shook his head, closing his blue eyes in sadness. Gaepora sighed, placed his right hand on his knee and his left on his chin, and scratched his goatee. "Could you possibly write it for me?"

The boys head shot up like a Loftwing, the sacred animals the goddess bestowed to each of them when she felt they were worthy. Each citizen typically got them at the age of seven, but he had heard of few cases of children who had received them at younger ages. They were very rare; the last one had happened over thirty years ago, and they had only received it when they were six-and-a-half. A child would usually receive a dream from the goddess herself, and the following day, they would receive a Loftwing. The whole process was life-changing for each child. Zelda was counting down the days, months, and years until she would finally receive one.

But the boy nodded his head, and he tilted it to the side in curiosity. Gaepora rose from his seat, strutting over to his desk and grabbing a small section of scroll, as well as a quill. He dipped it in ink for the boy and handed it to him. The boy nodded respectfully when he handed it to him, and sat on the ground, legs crossed like Zelda. The quill sat shakily in his left hand, gripped by his long, nimble, fingers.

The boy set the quill on the stone ground, and held up the scroll. On it, in minuscule handwriting, read Link.

Gaepora smiled again, walking over the boy, Link, and picking up the scroll and paper. "Link. That's an interesting name, might I say. Don't you agree, Zelda?" he observed, turning to face his daughter, who was staring out the large window behind her. At the sound of her name, she whipped around, her short, blond hair twirling behind her.

Her face morphed into one of confusion, and something that looked like disgust. "Link? Is that a type of bird, daddy? Didn't you say most everyone was named-?"

"It isn't, Zelda, but neither is yours." he said sharply, not wanting to imply anything to the young boy. He got the sense that Link already felt like an outsider in this situation, and he didn't want Zelda to accidently suggest it any more. However, when he glanced at Link out of the corner of his eye, he saw him simply smiling at what Zelda had said.

Zelda gave a small humph, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking out her bottom lip in a pout. It was a legitimate question to ask; quite possibly everyone in Skyloft had a name based off of a bird on the Surface. Even her father, whose name was so obscure and out-of-the-ordinary, had a name based on a bird who was quite possibly just a myth. Yet again, she shared something with this boy; a name unlike anyone else's in Skyloft.

She managed to get over her short burst of frustration towards her father. She uncrossed her legs and shifted her position so she was leaning over the desk, staring right at Link with intense curiosity. "How old are you, Link?" she asked, twirling a small strand of hair in between her fingers. He looked over at her and held up four fingers, accompanied by a small grin. Her face immediately lit up in a smile, and she turned to face her father, eyes shining bright with joy.

"Daddy, we're the same age!" she exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down in her seat. She knew one other person that was the same age as her. That was Groose, and although he was very nice to her, he often made fun of Karane, and her other friend Pipit. And the friends he hung out with- she didn't even know their names, now that she thought about it- teased all the other kids as well. She didn't want to be friends with a person like that. And along came Link, this boy who was the same age, and already seemed to have a lot in common with her. It was like they were destined to be friends with each other.

Her father let out a deep, throaty laugh, surprised at his daughter's sudden change in emotion. "I noticed, dear." he said, his chest moving up and down from his laughter. "Maybe you two can get to know each other?"

At this, Link's eyes immediately widened. He shook his head furiously, and began pointing back at the desk, right where the quill and scroll sat. Gaepora got up, rushing over to the two items and handing them to the young boy. He scribbled things quickly, yet somehow making the entire process look delicate and intricate. Gaepora realized with a drop in his stomach that this boy was much too used to writing for a child this age. He thought it was weird that his name was so precise, at first, but he figured it was like that because everyone only practiced their names at his age. It was like that because…

Oh, Hylia help him.

Link set the quill on the ground again and handed the scroll to Gaepora, who read it over as quickly as he could. He suddenly understood the severity of the situation he was involved in, all because this boy was sitting outside in the rain. He let the scroll wind itself back into its neat spiral before setting it down on the chair where he was sitting. This wasn't necessary, really. Zelda couldn't read that well, only simple words or phrases. She couldn't write anything besides her name, and Gaepora's, as well. And yet, here was this boy, the same age as his daughter, writing as if he had been at the Academy for his entire life.

Shakily, he turned back towards his daughter again. "Zelda, I need you to go back to your room for a little bit, okay? I need to talk to Link about something." he began, slowly walking over to his daughter. "I'll come see you in just a minute, okay?"

Zelda gaped at him, confused at why her father suddenly wanted to speak with Link. She nodded, slowly getting out of the chair, and walking over to the door, her quilt clutched in her hand. "Just a minute, right daddy?" she confirmed, drawing her hands up towards her face. Her father nodded, gently waving his hand to send her to her room. She stood on her tiptoes to reach the doorknob and twisted it, pushing the door that probably weighed more than her open extraordinarily slow, and then closed it at the same speed.

Gaepora waited until he heard Zelda's door open as well. He turned to Link, who now had tears welling in his large, blue eyes. "You are certainly an enigma, young one." he murmured.

Link simply mouthed back, "I know."

* * *

Zelda hadn't actually gone into her own room, contrary to what her father believed. Having an older girl as a practically a roommate- one next door, to be in fact- certainly had its benefits. Orielle, the girl who Zelda practically stayed with most of the time, had been surprised to see Zelda enter her room. She usually knocked first, or even passed through the small space in between the wooden paneling separating their rooms. She had just been laying on her bed, the plush bird her brother had given her as a present for getting into the Academy pressed against her chest. She was staring at the ceiling, losing herself in her own thoughts until the ravaging storm had finally passed. She was only there still because she really didn't feel like getting up anytime soon. But at the sound of the young girl entering her room she sat up, tossing the plush animal to the side. The little girl looked afraid of something. She knew it wasn't the storm, she had heard that she left outside to go get something, possibly someone. She had only managed to escape her thoughts to hear 'Can I go get...' before becoming lost in them once more.

"Zelda? What's the matter, girlie?" she asked, using her thin arms to push herself off the bed. Her brown pigtailish-braids bounced up and down as she hopped off of it. She walked over to Zelda, crouching down to her height, similar to what Gaepora would always do.

Zelda looked into Orielle's deep-brown eyes, watching them fill with curiosity at the child's fear, and possible sadness. "There's a boy in daddy's office." she muttered, turning away and looking at Orielle's bed. Her eyes drifted and saw the plush toy Orielle had just minutes ago. She wrapped the quilt around her entire body as she walked over to where the toy sat and picked it up, and then went to go and sit on the bed. "He made me leave to talk to daddy."

Orielle was immediately sparked by this statement. Zelda knew of all the boys who resided at the Academy; her saying 'a boy' in her father's office meant that she didn't actually know who it was. "Was it anyone that lived here, Zelda? Or did they live in another part of Skyloft?" she asked, turning to face the young girl. Zelda shook her head, squeezing the small toy against her chest. It was an odd situation, to say the least. Zelda was always extremely talkative. It took a lot of persuasion in order to get her to be quiet every once in a while.

"His name is Link. I have not seen him here, Ori. Do you know who he is?" she asked her, her head darting up to look at Orielle again. Orielle smiled at the small girls nickname for her. But, on the other hand, she didn't recognize the name from anywhere.

She rose up and sat down on the bed, right next to Zelda. She wrapped her arm around Zelda's thin shoulders, pulling her closer into somewhat of a side-hug. "I don't know that name, girlie. What's he look like? Is he a cutie?" she laughed, pinching the small girls cheek playfully. Zelda giggled, curling up into a small ball like she always did when she laughed.

"I dunno, Ori. He didn't look up that much. He didn't talk that much, too. He wrote own a lot of stuff." she giggled, tapping her fingers on the empty bed-space next to her. Her fingers moved like she was playing some sort of surface instrument from before, something that Orielle had learned in her classes. She couldn't recall what the name of it was. Something that started with an H, possibly? She would have to ask Professor Owlan la-

Wait, wait, wait.

The boy had written everything he wanted so speak, possibly? He must have been somewhere around middle-age, possibly. Possibly older. The Primary children could only write their name, maybe a few simple words. This began to make less-and-less sense in her head, and all the ideas she had were beginning to unravel.

"How old was he, Zelda? Maybe the age of Rupin?" she question, the whole topic of this mysterious boy in Gaepora's office now had her full attention.

Zelda began to twirl a strand of her bright blonde hair in between her fingers. "He's four, Ori. He held up his hand to show us." she said, almost excitedly. "Now Groose isn't the only person my age!"

At this, Orielles jaw physically dropped. She didn't even realize that it did until Zelda began giving her strange looks. "A-are you sure, girlie? Do you think he held up the wrong amount or-"

At this Gaepora opened up the door, his face pale and eyes wide. "I figured you were in here, Zelda. Please go to your room." he said shakily. It was obvious that there was a secret that he had that he was just begging to tell someone.

"But daddy-"

"Now, Zelda." he ordered, his voice now unwavered and firm. He was usually happy and carefree when speaking to his daughter, especially after the death of his wife. This was something extraordinarily unusual for the Headmaster to do. This information he had now must be of grave importance in order for him to be having this sort of reaction to it. "And place your quilt over the wall when you are inside."

Zelda looked up at her father in shock, not used to the harsh tone that he was using. She shakily stood up, placing the toy where she was sitting, and snuck back into her room through the gap in between the walls. She did as her father asked, standing up on her tiptoes as she threw the quilt over the gap. He heard the bed in her room creak, and he immediately turned to face Orielle.

"I understand Zelda and you are close, Orielle. And I also understand that she had been telling you about the boy, Link, that was in my office. Am I correct in that assumption?" he asked, pacing back and forth in front of Orielle. She nodded, afraid of the consequences that she would be receiving simply because she was trying to comfort Zelda.

Gaepora turned on his heels, walking over towards the door, and he opened it. "Good. Please follow me. I need you to speak with me and the Professors."

Orielle audibly gulped, nervously walking out the door. Her fingers laced together like they always did when her nerves got the best of her. She couldn't think; the only thing filling her head were her own footsteps and breathing. She felt like she was hyperventilating, every breath was a struggle to take. Getting into this Academy took everything she had. She didn't want to be kicked out after only being here for one year.

She was surprised to find the door to the Headmasters office open. He never left it unlocked, even if he was leaving for a mere minute. Leaving it like that was certainly a different thing to see. She walked inside, seeing both Professor Owlan and Professor Horwell standing inside, examining a scroll with amazed looks on their faces.

The two could often be mistaken for the same person from behind, with their similar build, the way that their hair was styled. The only exception was their hair and eye color. Owlans' hair was shockingly white; the color of stars in a clear night sky. His eyes were a light grey, nearly the same color as his hair. His overall appearance gave him a look like he was a severe threat. But he was far from that. He taught, monotonously most of the time, and had a strange obsession with plants.

Professor Horwell, on the other hand, had hair the color of mud. Clean mud, in the most contradictory sense. His eyes were the same color, as well. He was a very childish person, often watching over the Headmasters pet, Mia, whenever he possibly could. He could get extremely serious when necessary, however. Orielle had seen that side when she and her brother attempted to fly at night. They had been suspended from flying altogether for a month, and even when they were allowed to, they were under constant watch. Needless to say, they never attempted that again.

Owlan lowered the scroll, his eyes piercing into Orielle's own. He let it coil together, grasping it tightly in his left hand, and he handed it to her. He was a man of few words; most of his lessons consisted of talks between the students and readings from their textbooks. She unrolled the scroll, examining the neat handwriting that bled into the tan parchment.

_I can see by the look in your eyes that you are curious as to why I refuse to speak. Mr. Gaepora, how I wish to tell you every bit of information that I am writing on this scroll. I am restrained by my own body, unable to fathom my thoughts into worlds that I could speak. I am left simply yo give you this, a sort of understanding as to why I am the way that I am. I can't give you any more information than what I am writing here, sir. I dislike being discovered; I still hardly know or understand why I remained underneath that tree when you and your daughter appeared. But I hope you can use what I write to you, and possibly not question me __further..._

The scroll went on and on. Orielle could hardly write something like this now, never at the age of four. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask as many questions as she could while she was here. "Is he really-?"

"Four? Yes. I couldn't believe it myself after I read this." Gaepora answered, cutting the girl off before she could even speak more than three words. "But I have more important matters to discuss with the three of you."

The two professors nodded simultaneously, while Orielle shifted her body weight uncomfortably onto her right foot. Gaepora began pacing back and forth in front of the bookshelf, stopping when he noticed something particular.

All of Gaepora's bookshelves were stocked full of Ancient Lore and Textbooks from the surface world. There was hardly any room for any books to be crammed into it, and any time he discovered a new book, he had to move _everything_ in order for it to fit into the bookshelf. So, him seeing a row of books, all slanted at an odd angle, would be something that he would not see typically. He suddenly realized what had happened, and when he did, he let out a deep, throaty laugh that filled the room, breaking the silence that hung there momentarily.

"The boy stole my books. He managed to steal my books without me noticing." he chuckled, leaning against one of the bookshelves. He managed to collect himself quickly, putting on a straight face before continuing on with the intended conversation.

"As I said, this boy is merely four, the same age as my daughter. The fact that not a single one of us knows who he is, even where he came from, is unnerving. I need you two, Owlan and Horwell, to search for this boy and bring him here to me. Even ask the adults if they know anything about the child. The information he gave me in his writing was simply not enough. I need to make sure that he is safe here. As long as I am the Headmaster at this Academy, and the human over-bearer of this village, I _will _make sure he is safe. Do you understand?" he demanded, glaring especially at the two professors. They both nodded, even Orielle, who had been lost in her own mind for the minutes before that. The serious tone that Gaepora had taken snapped her out of her thoughts quickly.

"Good. You two are dismissed. Orielle, I need you to do one thing. Please stay behind." Gaepora ordered, flicking his hand in the direction of the door. The two professors bowed their head to the Headmaster and left quickly, shutting the door abruptly behind them.

Gaepora sighed and sat down in the chair behind his desk, his head cupped in his hands. "It's too early for this, Hylia…" he murmured, barely audible enough for Orielle to hear what he said. She had to strain her ears in order to understand what he was saying. He shook his head and looked back up at Orielle, who was now leaning against the wall next to the door.

"I know Zelda trusts in you, often more than she trusts in me." he said, folding his arms across each other on his desk. His eyes drifted to the scroll that sat at the very corner of the desk, and he yearned to pick it up and read what the boy had written for about the fifth time in that short span of time. "So I'm going to make the hopefully correct decision in having you tell her this instead of me."

Orielle turned her head to the side slightly, confused at what Gaepora was about to tell her. "Tell her what? That we need to find-?"

"No, no, no, Orielle. I don't need Zelda to find him. She needs to know why this boy wouldn't talk to her. Everyone in Skyloft is social and extroverted, and she isn't used to someone who is the exact opposite of that. I cannot put into words what is going on, at least in terms that she would understand. You, however, will be able to. I am trusting you with this information, and I need you to make sure she understands this. It is of the utmost importance."

Orielle nodded, walking over to the desk and grabbing the scroll once more. "Do you want me to read this to her or-?"

Gaepora sighed again, interrupting the girl. "She can't understand that. Even Horwell said that anyone below the Academy wouldn't be able to comprehend a majority of what he wrote. Its strategic, now that I think about. Not every can know what he wishes to tell me."

Orielle now had a look of pure confusion plastered all over her face. Gaepora was avoiding the subject of this conversation; trying to figure out what it was the she was to say to Zelda. "What do I tell her, Headmaster?"

Gaepora paused, placing a finger on his goatee, as if he was trying to think of something. He licked his lips, attempting to say the words that sat on the very tip of his tongue. Yet he found himself, just like Link, unable to.

Finally, he managed to find what to say, in the simplest of terms for his young daughter. "Tell her he's mute. He can't talk, and he'll never be able to."

* * *

**Alright, then. There's that for anyone that was wondering.**

**As said by my ingenious name, I'm PossiblyAGinger. This is my second fanfiction, it just looks like my first because I deleted the other one. It is my first in this category, however.**

**After playing through Skyward Sword, this idea came to me when Link woke up to Zelda's letter. It struck something in my mind, so I wrote about it.**

**I posted this AN after publishing the story, and I've already gotten WAY more views than my first in the first day than I did over the course of three months. Thanks to anyone who read it! **

**I will try to update as much as possible. School and sports are very time consuming. Thank you for reading this!**


	2. Hiding in a Place My Own

**I seriously love you guys**.

**Nearly 100 Views, 6 Reviews, 7 Follows and a Favorite, all in the span of about a week. This is crazier than I could've imagined. And I have all of you reading to thank for it. **

**I will admit, this chapter was extremely tough to write. I rewrote the entire thing at least five times; I was that frustrated with it. Link is very difficult to write, especially with him having literally no backstory in any of Skyward Sword. It's super fun to imagine his strange little world, but extremely annoying at the same time. **

**THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO REVIEWED! Your feedback helps me out so much, and lets me know what I should change, and what I should keep. I PM'd you if you left a review as a user, and I responded to guests just below here. Again, thank you all, and review only help me out.**

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**PersonWhoReads: Thank you so much for that review! I smiled so much when I read it! I really appreciate the review!**

**Tartan: I'll be honest here, I literally laughed for like five minutes when I read this. I don't know if it's supposed to mean anything, but it was funny. Thanks for the review!**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own _Skyward Sword_ or any of the _Legend of Zelda _franchise.**

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If he were to be completely honest with himself, he didn't quite understand why he remained underneath the tree by the Bazaar. He knew the girl had seen him. He knew that Gaepora had even seen him. He even knew that they were probably going to get him. And yet, he still was completely thrown off guard when that girl appeared.

Maybe it was the sheer shock that he was experiencing that prevented him from moving, or maybe it was just the fact that his entire body was freezing and he could hardly feel anything from his neck down. But he could feel something inside of him, just telling him to stay where he was; to listen to what the girl had to say to him. And he did as it said. And how he regretted that decision.

When he had gotten to that office, he couldn't help the information that he gave to them from pouring out of him. It flowed out of his hand without of control, and showed on his hands without him ever wanting it to. It was the last thing on his mind; telling the Headmaster of the Academy exactly who he was. And how old he was. And about a million other things that he could never take back, no matter how hard he wished. He could've taken the scroll when Gaepora let him go, but his body just told him to leave. It would've been pointless anyway. He probably memorized every single word that he had written on that scroll. He bet, oh by Hylia he bet, that he had probably read it nearly ten times by this point. He inwardly scorned himself for just making a simple mistake like that. He'd have to take it back the next time he went to the Academy.

The ground was still damp from the rain just a mere half-hour ago. Mud squished in between his toes, covering his small feet. He laughed at the sound it made, and who could blame him? He was a child, for Hylia's sake. He could enjoy the noise mud made when it was stepped on. He could practically do as he pleased. He was alone at the moment; there were no adults around that he could see, to his luck. He had to hurry, however. The rain finally clearing up probably meant that they'd soon be outside, and the last thing he needed today was more people seeing a child that they've never seen before.

Link still sat underneath the tree, his back pressed against the tree like it was just a bit ago. He closed his eyes, letting the warm rays of sunshine hit his rain-covered face. It felt relaxing, contradicting the harsh pellets of rain that hit his face when he sat here last. He smiled to himself, his mouth opening in a laugh that would never be formed. He quickly shut it, not wanting to look like a complete fool.

That was one of the things he hated the most; the inability to laugh. He could deal with not talking; he could easily write down everything that he needed to if he needed to speak with someone. But laughing, that was something irreplaceable. He was envious of everyones laughed, and how individualized it was to that specific person. How easy it was to them, like it was something simple like breathing, or blinking. Whenever he tried to laugh, it took all the energy he had, and yet the only noise he could make sounded like a cough. All he could do was smile, and hope the person go the message he was going for. And maybe not think that he was making a complete fool of himself.

He heard a sharp noise, and immediately stood up. He poked his head around the tree from where he was standing and looked up at the Bazaar, seeing the man who repaired items throw open the tarps that covered the entrances. He knew then it was time to leave. He'd get caught if he stayed any longer.

He stood on his toes and reached up into the tree, grabbing the book that he stole from Gaepora's office. He did feel bad about stealing from the man, but he was running low on things to entertain himself with. And since the man had so many of them, he knew "borrowing" one for about two weeks wouldn't kill him.

If someone were to look at Link, they wouldn't suspect that the small boy was fascinated by everything that he read. It was almost as if his brain craved knowledge; if he didn't have it, something in his head was missing. It was an interesting feeling, he felt like he couldn't properly function for a while. Rereading something didn't help with that either. The boy remembered practically everything that he read. He supposed that was something that came with the muteness.

He clutched the leather-bound book against his chest and did the thing that he was the best at.

He ran.

He took off in a full sprint, rounding the narrow twists and turns of the dirt path. He hopped over one of the small stone walls, never breaking the speed he was traveling at. He reached the bridge that stat over the small river, pouring water into the empty sky. He clutched the book just a bit tighter, for the fear of slipping and throwing the book into the water. It would flow down the river and fall down the clouds, and get lost on the surface for the rest of time. He crossed the bridge and turned right, sprinting past all of the small houses that sat on the other side of town; the village side. Most everyone lived on this side. It was seen as the more refined area of Skyloft. The area was like a prestigious title, only secondary to becoming a knight in the Academy. It was strange; all the houses were exactly the same as each other. But it was something about living across a river, away from all the commotion of the town's center, that made people feel like they belonged above everyone else.

Link slowed as he began to reach the very edge of the village's side. He stood on his toes, resting his arms on the small fence. It was the only thing that kept him from tumbling over the edge, and falling down towards the Surface where he would never be found. The Knights would never hear him scream; he couldn't. He'd have to hope they could see a small boy falling behind the falling water if he ever went over the edge. He shuddered at the thought and turned around, turning his gaze to the small area where he spent most of his time. The sun shone down on the stones, making the raindrops that still sat on them shine like jewels. The tree where he sat dripped with the fresh rain water, falling and shattering on the stones. It was a peaceful sight, he noticed, and it made sense for where he was standing.

The Graveyard.

Link took in a deep breath and nervously walked over towards the stones. He didn't want to read them; he was afraid he'd be haunted by nightmares. This place made him feel unsettled, like someone was constantly watching him from this place. It was the only place where he could stay, however; the feeling of constant dread was one of the prices that he had to pay. He turned and looked at the shed that was built into the hard, rock wall, sliding the wooden brown door open as he listened to it creak and shudder, moving across the slot where it rested. It revealed more stone beneath the shed, accompanied by a large, square hole in the center of the small space, leaving barely any space outside of it. Link drew in a deep breath, carefully stepping inside of the shed and onto the small space of stones. He looked down the whole, staring at the rickety wooden planks that were beneath him, and the ladder that sat in a crevice in the wall. He lowered himself down and turned, placing his foot on one of the ladder rungs. The old, wooden object creaked underneath his small weight. He flinched and closed his eyes, gripping tightly onto the two pieces that stuck out just above the whole. He let out his breath, stretching his arm out to pull the door shut. He left it open enough that he could slip his bony fingers through the crack; the door only opened from the outside. He grabbed the stolen book and placed it in-between one of the ladder rungs. He then began to move down the ladder at a lethargic speed, carefully placing his feet on the very edges of the ladder, and the same with his hands. As he moved down, he put the book just above him, between the ladder rungs. His eyes glanced down towards the wooden plank below, and he gulped out of fear. If he fell from here, there'd be no way for him to get back up to the main city. He'd be permanently stuck down there, and Link knew the consequences if that situation happened.

Link reached halfway down the ladder after many minutes of scaling down the ladder. He grabbed the book in his hand, closing his eyes tightly, and let the book fall down to the wooden plank beneath him. It hit the plank with a loud _thud_, but the plank didn't break. He opened his eyes back up and smiled, glad the platform didn't break. He had done this many times before, and he always feared that he'd break the only way to get to his so-called home.

After what seemed like ages, he reached the bottom, setting his bare feet on the smooth wooden planks. They too creaked underneath his weight. The planks were only supported by rickety beams that stuck out of the side of the rock. He walked towards slowly, listening to the creaks and lurches that the wood made every time he took a step. He clenched his hands, his tiny knuckles turning white. The mere idea of the Surface terrified the silent boy, enough to the point where he would rather sleep out in the open rather than in this place. He didn't want to risk it with the rainfall that occurred earlier. Although he was aware of its rareness, he didn't want to risk anything like that.

He stopped in front of the stone wall, looking at a broken wooden door that sat inside of it. Shafts of light creeped into the space that it protected, casting eerie shadows into the cave-like place. Link shuddered to himself, clenching his teeth as he slowly shuffled towards the door. He reached out one of his fair-toned hands, placing it against the broken door. He felt sharp splinters of wood press up against his hand, digging uncomfortably into his soft palm. He flinched again, opening his mouth in a silent scream before breathing heavily through his nostrils. He pushed it open, feeling the splinters push through his skin, stabbing him like tiny little swords. The door flung backwards and slammed against the wall, despite how softly Link had actually pushed it. It showed just how old the door was, and how close it was to breaking at any given moment.

The quiet child carefully stepped inside of the haunted room, only being able to see by the rays of light that entered the room. It cast light against a stone platform. The stones were cracked and broken, and several pieces of the platform were missing. The once gray rocks were now a dirty green color, covered in moss and dirt from all the times the door flew open during a windstorm. A large, crimson curtain draped across the platform, holes blotted all up and down the fabric. The edges were frayed, ripping at thousands of different lengths. There was no other light besides what he could see during the day; the entire place was pitch black when night arrived. Yet to him, this place was the closest thing to home he was ever going to get.

The boy ran over to the curtain and threw himself on it, staring up at the rocky ceiling of the room. His lips quivered, and he blinked his eyes quickly as they started to fill with tears. But he couldn't stop them from appearing in his eyes. And he couldn't stop as they fell down his face.

All Link wanted was to be normal. He could live here, he wouldn't care at all, however he only wanted to speak. Everyone that he met, whether it was today or some point in the past, had acted completely different around him. Gaepora didn't speak after he had finished reading the letter he had written. He had a friend when he was younger who didn't realize his inability to speak until he was about two, and when he figured it out, he couldn't see him anymore. And his parents-

Link stopped his thoughts before they could completely fill his fragile mind. He didn't need the thought of them in his mind, not now. Not after what had already happened.

Link sat up, wiping his tears on the sleeves of his slightly damp shirt. He rolled over and lifted up the corner of the curtain. Scrolls began to roll out across the platform, clattering down to the wooden floor. There were many of them, documenting times in Link's life when he felt it was necessary to write something. A cream feathered quill sat still beneath the curtain. It was missing little flairs of the feather, making it look bare and broken. It was the only thing he had, and as long as it worked, he wouldn't steal a quill from anyone. A foggy glass, barely filled with onyx ink, sloshed back and forth next to the quill, threatening to spill over. Link quickly grabbed it as it tipped dangerously to the side, a mere fingertip away from collapsing over the edge. He let out a short breath, fearful of losing something so rare here. He knew trying to steal anything like this would be near impossible. He had found this by luck when he stumbled across the place.

Link gracefully picked up the quill, holding the broken object in his small hands. He pulled the rock out of the top of the ink bottle, the only thing that prevented him from losing the rare substance. Frantically, he opened and closed each one of the scrolls, trying to find one that wasn't already written on. He eventually found one, a scroll with a deep, earthen tone, one that had tiny little rips lining the edges. It would have to do.

The boy tipped the edge of the quill in the ink, trying to think of words that could accurately describe everything that happened in the hours before. They began to flow out of his brain like a river, and he set the quill on the paper, and began to write what came to him.

* * *

Orielle paced outside of Zelda's room, trying to think of something to say to the young girl. Out of all the things she could've gotten caught up in, discovering a mute boy that resided somewhere in Skyloft, one Zelda had met and Gaepora had taken an interest in, had to be the situation she discovered. It had seemed like such a simple thing to say to the girl. "Just tell her he can't speak." Gaepora had said. Yet, every time she said it to herself, she couldn't imagine that Zelda would be able to understand it like she could.

She turned towards the door; something to simple seemed extraordinarily ominous at the moment. She took a single step towards its wooden frame, extending a gloved fist towards the frame, but couldn't find it in herself to knock on the door. She drew her hand back, holding it in front of her chest daintily, and dropped it back at her side once more. She walked back to her own room, softly opening to door, attempting not to let Zelda know she was entering her room. She closed the door just as softly, before running over and flinging herself on her bed. She grabbed the pillow and pressed it against her face, screaming her lungs out into the soft, feathery square. She threw it across the room, watching as it hit the door and fell to the floor with a soft _thud._ Orielle flipped herself over, staring back up at the ceiling. She wished that her brother hadn't dropped out of the school, and was still staying just one floor beneath her. She could really use his advice right now, but she knew, deep in the back of her mind, dragging him into this would probably be one of the worst things she could do at the moment. And so the girl laid on her bed, stared at the ceiling, and lost herself in her thoughts.

She kept trying to think of something -_anything- _to tell Zelda. She couldn't put it into words how difficult and unprecedented this seemingly simplistic phrase was to say. Even when she said it out loud, and she had many times already, it felt just so... abnormal. She'd have to pray to Hylia that Zelda could possibly understand this, because right now, she wasn't even that sure that she really could.

Orielle sighed and sat up in her bed, leaning her back against the wall. It was covered in thousands upon thousands of tiny pebbles, things that could have only come from the river, or maybe even the Surface. They felt rough and bumpy against the thin fabric of her shirt, digging into small divots in her back. The pebbles of a million different colors decorated the marigold colored walls, giving the walls a look of venerableness. Graphite, smoke, cloud, and even amber colored stones flowed around the walls like a Loftwing through the sky, gracefully intwining in accidental patterns that captivated the naked eye. She had never really paid any attention to the extreme detail that had gone into something like this; being lost in her own thoughts really opened up her eyes to the true beauty of Skyloft, and everything that was in it.

Orielle sat up off her bed, pacing around in her own room for what seemed like eternity. Something inside of her was pushing her to just go talk to Zelda and tell her what was happening. She didn't even completely understand why Headmaster Gaepora wanted her to reveal something this monumentous to a girl at the age of four. It was monuments to even her. Everyone in Skyloft seemed to be normal in every way possible. Everyone fell right into place with one another, fitting together like pieces of puzzle. And this boy was something different, an extra piece that didn't seem to fit quite right. A missing piece that would never be found, one lost forever. The piece of the puzzle that belonged to another. No words could really describe how the boy didn't quite seem to fit in with the rest of the citizens, and none ever would. Trying to describe the boy was like trying to form the sentence to tell to Zelda.

The older girl, caught up in far too many things for a normal twelve year old girl, placed her hands on her neck and stared up at the ceiling, exhaling loud enough that the entirety of Skyloft could hear her. She finally turned on her heels, finally facing her own door once more. She strut over to it, heels clicking the ground with every step she took. It was a nervous habit, her brother had told her. She had walked like that the entirety of their suspension from the Academy, and even some while they were suspended from flying. It had annoyed him to no end, but she could never seem to stop herself from doing it. Extending her hand, she grasped the doorknob, however her sweaty hands prevented her from opening it. She wiped her hands on her tan pants, before attempting to open the door once more. It opened, as she suspected, and she walked out into the hallway.

There wouldn't be a time where she would've ever thought that she'd ever dread the confines of the green-patterned walls. They practically haunted her, making her feel restricted into a bubble barely bigger than her own body. She felt like her lungs were constricted, folding in on themselves, to the point where taking a simple breath seemed like a laborious task. She turned sharply and stared at Zelda's door. Never had anything looked so ominous in her lifetime. She remembered when she was young, possibly a year older than Zelda, when she would be continuously haunted by nightmares. Her brother told her that there were barely any nights when one didn't tear her away from sleeping. Her screams would rip through their small household. Her brother often said he got goosebumps when he heard her haunting screams. She managed to control them, eventually.

Her screams. Not the nightmares.

Orielle let out another breath at the memory. She cracked her knuckles and began tapping her fingers on her leg, listening to the soft tap that was made when her fingers hit her cotton pants. Left hand still tapping to the beat of her heart, she extended her right, fingertips hovering mere inches over the doorknob. And yet again, she drew it back again, unable to force herself to open up the door.

But instead, the door opened, revealing the tiny, quilt-covered frame of Zelda.

The little girl looked up at Orielle with a small smile on her face. "I could hear you pacing in your room, Ori. You weren't exactly being quiet." she giggled, opening the door even more for Orielle to enter. The older girl laughed along with Zelda, but the laughing was forced. She was as far from happy as she could be; as far away Skyloft was from the Surface. She shuffled into the blonde girls room, wrapping her arm around the girls quilted shoulder. She blindly reached behind her, eventually finding the cold, metal doorknob, and pulled the door shut with a soft click. She brought her gaze up, and soft brown eyes widened when she saw the mess of Zelda's room.

Ripped up scrolls were flung at every open place: in the corners, on the bed, even on top of the dresser that stood six feet high. A used, purple quill sat on Zelda's bed, the dark-purple ink bleeding into the white sheets.

Zelda looked up at Orielle, who was gaping at her room. "I tried to write like that boy, Ori. I couldn't do it." she mumbled, sliding out of Orielle grasp. She picked up one of the scrolls, unraveling it to reveal her attempted name written in shaky letters. The 'a' was written backwards, and the 'l' upside down. "I can't even write my name, Ori. Why could he?"

Orielle walked over to Zelda quickly, picking up the small girl and setting her on the bed, as far away from the ink blot as possible. She went down to one knee, remaining eye level with her younger "roommate". She placed her hand on the girls shoulder again, trying to comfort her the best possible.

She licked her lips, trying to form a sentence to start off this incredibly difficult conversation. "Zelda, that boy was a bit… different… than me and you." she began, tearing her gaze away from Zeldas own. "He knows… quite a bit more than either one of us, girlie."

The small girls mouth opened into an 'o' shape, and blue eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Smarter than you, Ori? That isn't possible!" she exclaimed, flailing her arms out to the side. This caused laughter to come from Orielle. The girl was quite a handful at times.

Orielle looked back at Zelda, pinching her cheeks between her fingers. "You know that's not true, girlie." she laughed. Zelda giggled, lightly hitting Orielle hand away.

"Stop it, Ori!" she giggled, curling herself up into a tiny ball as she wrapped her quilt around her again. The two laughed in harmony, Orielle almost forgetting what she was supposed to be doing here. The responsibility crept into her mind once more, eating away at her laughter. Orielle became serious once more, collecting herself before lifting up the quilt that covered Zelda.

"Zelda, I need you to listen to me for a second. This is very important, girlie." she said seriously, looking straight into Zelda's eyes. "And I need you to keep this a secret, m'kay? Your father knows, and the Professors, but nobody else can. Do you understand?"

Zelda nodded, looking up at the scroll that sat on top of her dresser. "Link can't talk, can he?" she asked softly, still never meeting Orielles eyes. She had some sort of suspicion from the time when she found him underneath the tree. When he smiled instead of laughing, something sparked in her mind. It kept on whispering to her, telling the blonde girl that he was much more different than she was. Sitting behind her father's desk as the boy wrote so perfectly on that scroll had somewhat confirmed that suspicion. And now, with Orielle speaking about him seriously, it was practically a giveaway that everything she had thought was correct.

Although she refused to show it on her face, Orielle was dumbfounded by the girl figuring out what was going on this quickly. Zelda didn't seem like the type to understand things most of the time, but she picked up on some things very quickly. During the time when Orielle had gotten caught night-flying, she seemed to know everything that was going on. Orielle had suspected that her father had told her. She even confronted the Headmaster about disregarding her own personal privacy and telling everything she did wrong to his daughter, but he hadn't even known that she had done that. She ended up getting suspended from the Academy itself for a week thereafter. She had forgotten about that entire scenario up until this point; the entire memory flooded her mind.

Orielle nodded, "Yes, Zelda. He can't." she murmured, rising up and sitting on the empty space next to the small girl. She wrapped her arm around her, pulling her into a side hug. She heard Zelda sniffle, and tears began to roll down her pale face. Orielle only hugged her harder, feeling Zelda's tears spill down onto her brown pants. The two sat there in silence, because there was nothing else that either one of them could do except hold each other tightly. Orielle used her free hand to stroke the small girls hair, using yet another method to comfort the girl. She couldn't imagine how the girl could be processing this information. She had to use a lot of the strength within her to keep a composure that wouldn't scare Zelda. And it was difficult. Harder than anything else she could have imagined.

Orielle began to feel Zelda squirm in her seat, and she released the small girl, letting her rise up off the bed. The small blonde walked around the room, kicking any of the scrolls that lay around the room. Her foot met the only remaining bottle of ink, sending it crashing over, and black ink began to bleed all over the stone floor. The girl crumpled down, accepting the defeat that her emotions bestowed to her. And Orielle, who tried so hard to give her a sense of amenity, could only watch as the girls emotions took their toll.

"I-I-I fe-feel so bad f-for ye-yelling at him, O-Ori." Zelda sobbed, gasping for air between her cries. She brought her hand up towards her eyes and wiped away her tears, but that still couldn't prevent any more from cascading down onto her cheeks. "A-And now h-he's gone, a-and I c-can't say s-sorry."

Orielle immediately rose to her feet, scurrying over to Zelda. She picked up the small girl again, carrying her back over to the bed. She set her down on the edge of it as she kneeled down to meet her eyes yet again. She grabbed Zelda's face, forcing the small girl to look her straight in the eyes.

"Look at me, Zelda. Everyone makes a mistake. There was no way for you to know that he couldn't talk." Orielle said fiercely. At the mention of the last sentence, Zelda's face conformed into another one of sadness, and more tears began to fill in her eyes. Orielle used her thumb to wipe them away, and continued to look straight into Zelda's sky blue eyes. "But I'm sure he doesn't blame you for it, okay? No one does. I don't, and I know that your dad doesn't. If he wanted you to know he would have... written it to you. Now don't be upset, girlie. That won't help us say sorry to him."

Zelda gave the older girl a small smile, but it was insincere. Orielle had known the girl since the day she was born, and it was easy to tell when a lie slipped past her lips. Zelda never smiled without using her teeth. It was part of her persona.

Orielle raised up her hand and scruffled up the girls blonde hair. "I'm sure we can find him, girlie. Skyloft is only so big." she said with a smile. The small girl looked up at her, crystalline blue eyes now puffy and red. She nodded, wiping her tears away with her now damp, pink sleeve.

"C-Can you h-help me with s-something, Ori?" Zelda wondered, looking down at the ground. She folded her hands together, placing them on her lap. Her legs swung back on forth on the edge of the bed, ankles barely tapping the wooden frame.

"Anything, girlie." Orielle promised, smiling down at the small girl.

"Can you help me write a letter to Link?"

Orielle was surprised at the girls question. She was suspecting that the girl would ask Orielle to sing that one song, whose name she couldn't remember, to her like she always did. It was the song that Orielle's mother used to sing to her when she was younger, after she had one of her nightmares. It was something passed down from their family, but, oddly enough, was actually taught to their mother by Gaepora. She knew that Karane's mother had also learned the lullaby, and that was possibly the extent of everyone that really knew anything about it. But instead, the little girl had completely shocked her with this statement.

"O-Of course, Zelda." she stuttered, slipping down off the bed. She looked through all of the scrolls littered around the room, and managed to find one that was blank. She ripped the ends off of it, making it just an ordinary, rectangular shape. She grabbed the quill and bottle of ink, which barely had enough inside of it to write more than one letters worth, and set them down on the floor next to her. She crossed her legs over one another, and then pat her lap lightly. Zelda giggled and hopped off the bed, rushing over to the older girl. She sat down on her lap as Orielle wrapped her arms around the girls mid-section. The two laughed in unison, something so contradictory to the situation, and yet it fit so perfectly.

And the two girls, who shared a bond stronger that a Loftwing and it's rider, began to write a letter to the Sky's most confusing child.

* * *

_Dear Link (aka, the Tree Boy I Met)_

_This is Zelda, that girl you met the other day, the one when it rained. My friend Orielle is writing this letter to you, because I really can't do that yet. If you found this, that means you're somewhere out in Skyloft, like my father hopes you are. As do I. If you don't, well, I hope you find it, because I really want you to read it sometime soon. _

_Ori told me about your voice. I'm sorry for yelling at you, and splashing you with mud. Everyone in Skyloft talks a lot, but it was nice to meet someone who just listened. I guess I can say thank you for that. _

_I hope I can see you sometime soon. I don't have many friends that are my age. I have Ori, of course, but she's a student at the Academy. There's Karane too, but she's eight, and only plays with Pipit and Rupin. I don't get to see her that much anymore. There's a boy named Groose, but he's really mean. I don't like him that much. He's a bit of a butthead (don't tell daddy I said that)._

_If you can give me a letter back, I'll know that you saw this. Just put it in the same place that I did, and I'll have Ori right another letter. Or maybe I can learn to write like you, Link. I really want to. Writing letters seems cool. _

_I hope I can meet you again, Link. I hope it isn't when it's raining, and both of us are scared, too. _

_-Zelda_

* * *

**Well, that's that. A letter finally came into the story!**

**I wanted to make the letter longer, but that wouldn't make that much sense if a four year old was essentially writing it. So I made it shorter. Sue me. **

**I will try to have the next chapter posted soon. That may be a week from now, or it may be a month. It really depends on how busy I am with school and other things. I hope you all liked this chapter, because it was really a struggle to write. **

**Bye everyone! Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Sneaking Around in Silence

**Y'all are seriously insane. And I love that.**

**So you all decided to go completely insane and gave this _102 VIEWS_ in the first day that I posted the second chapter. It makes me all tingly inside at hearing that. It really inspires me to continuously write this story, no matter what the cost of it is. I did the review thing yet again, so if you left one, expect a PM in your inbox whenever I get the chance to answer them. Guest review will be responded to down below.**

**If you are reading the most recent update of it, you may or may not have noticed that I completely blanked on Link carrying the book down to his "house". So, just for clarification (and I'm editing into Chapter 2 later), Link rested it in the ladder rungs while he went down, and about halfway down the ladder, he just dropped it onto the platform. Sorry for any confusion!**

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**Steve: Thank you so much for the review! I am trying to go for a sense of "adorableness" for Zelda, so I'm glad it's being picked up on. Your review was the first thing I saw when I woke up, and it brought a HUGE smile to my face. Thank you!**

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**(And finally, because I'm very bad about forgetting this part) I don't own Skyward Sword, or any other part of the Legend of Zelda franchise.**

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Night had fallen upon the small village that was floating above the clouds, and the piece of rock entered a certain state of tranquility one would rarely see. Small bugs floated around the never-ending river, illuminating it with a soft, other-worldly glow that bounced off the soft ripples of water. The few trees that dotted the island swayed back and forth in the light breeze, occasionally sending a leaf on an endless journey through the nearly empty sky, only to fall beneath the clouds, and down to the Surface below. The small huts that were built into the wall had light shining through their stained-glass windows, casting soft beams of red and yellow onto the dark green grass. Lanterns sat on the edge of the bridge, and around the courtyard that held the Light Tower, shining out small orange beacons out into the dark world. No people wandered around the village; everyone sat safe inside of their houses, speaking with their family, or sleeping the night away. All except Link, the nocturnal mute boy, who sat underneath the statue of the bird with one eye, and stared up at the glittering stars in the sky.

His rounded face had soft shadows cast upon it by the full moons' light, making his pale skin look as white as the sand that sat on the edge of the pool near the waterfall. The noise that it made calmed the often fretful child, letting him live in his own thoughts, rather than the real world. He often spent his nights outside, due to the fact that his place of refuge allowed little-to-no light inside, trapping him inside one of his worst fears. It seemed contradictory, in a sense, that a boy so afraid of the dark refused to go inside, only to remain outside in the very thing that plagued his mind. But the light the moon gave off, and that of the bugs the circled the water, made him feel safe enough to stay outside, in an exposed state. The boy giggled silently as one of said bugs flew over to his face and lit up, touching down onto his nose. He laughed his silent laugh, swatting the bug away with skeletal hands. He watched as it flew away back to the water, and stared in amazement as the bug sat lightly on the surface of the water. It was something he saw nearly every night, and it never ceased to amaze the boys complicated mind. He sat himself up, dusting the small patches of dirt off of the back of his already dirty pants. He grabbed his stomach as it let out a low, audible rumble. He felt one of his ribs when he did this. The boy hadn't eaten in almost a week, and had forgotten to grab anything while he was inside the Academy. It was yet another mistake he had made that day, and they only seemed to pile upon each other, building into a hill that he could never climb.

He'd have to go back to the Academy. He'd have to steal another thing from Gaepora, something he still felt bad about.

He let out a large sigh, plopping back down onto the grass in a helpless heap. He turned his head towards the water, watching as the soft waves crept up towards the grass. He crawled over to it, sticking his mud covered feet into the cool, crystalline water. He watched as the mud began to dissipate off of his bony feet, and snaked down the waterfall that spilled its contents down to the Surface below. He moved his tiny feet, letting them feel the soft blades of grass. They snuck between his toes, sending shivers through his prominent spine. He smiles his perfect white smile, and somehow, the moon managed to reflect off of it just so, and the reflection caught his eye in the pool of water. He slapped his hand over his mouth, and watched his eyes crinkle like they always did when he smiled. He took his hand off of his mouth as he turned away from the pool of water, and let it fall to the side of his body. He hopped across the platforms that sat high above the water, letting them bring joy to his often mundane existence. He caught his balance as hit foot narrowly clipped the edge of the last platform, sending a wave of panic all throughout his small body. He slowly stepped over to the Village Square, letting out a sigh of relief once both of his bare feet reached the grass on the other side.

The boy walked underneath the bridge that led to the windmill, the one that housed the small group of odd birds. They were smaller than Loftwings, much smaller, only about half the size of their head, yet there were only a select few of them that resided on the island. Maybe two or three; Link had only seen them a handful of times in his life. They were very odd colors as well, almost light faded shades of Loftwings. He had seen a few of them floating around the sky, Loftwings, that is, and they all were extremely bright and colorful; the exact opposite of the small birds. Maybe they were just baby Loftwings, he thought, but he knew that was a bit of a stretch to believe that.

Suddenly, he heard a wooden door creak open. Link froze rigid, clenching his hands into fist, and his toes curled around the grass. He saw the silhouette of a large man illuminated by the light in the house underneath the windmill. He saw the man's head look back and forth, nearly looking in the direction of Link himself. He then shook his head as he pulled the door shut once more, and the lights inside the house shut off as quickly as the man had come. Link let his body release its tension, and a sigh escaped his thin lips. That was far too close for comfort. He didn't need yet another person figuring out that there's a mysterious boy roaming around Skyloft in the middle of the night.

Link sprinted past the house, not wanting the mysterious man to somehow see him in the dead of night. He managed to reach the bench that sat in front of the courtyard. He sat down on its wooden frame, waiting for his shallow breaths to finally slow to ones that were somewhat normal. He stared at the flickering orange flame not more than three feet behind him, watching as it danced gracefully in the soft breeze. Embers sparked and crackled and flew up in the air, momentarily matching the stars in the clear night sky, only to turn black and fall back down to the grass. The smell of smoke entered Link's nose, making it crinkle up in disgust, only to be quickly followed by his nearly inaudible cough. He covered his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his tunic as he stood up and walked back towards his tree, not caring about how fast he was going. His eyes drifted up to the gate that led to the main entrance, and he saw that the metallic monstrosities were clamped shut. He expected that to be true, it was about ninety-five percent of the time he went to the Academy at night. He always checked on the slim chance that it might possibly be open, and would make his mission that much easier. He'd just have to do what he normally did, which wasn't difficult in any sort of way. He knew that the Academy's cook, Henya, typically locked the main door, but constantly left the one connected to the bridge unlocked. She knew that sneaking past both Professors, as well as the Headmaster himself, would be a near impossible task in the first place, which is why she dared leave it open. But never would she think that a boy, one that had completely mastered the technique of sneaking around and being quiet, would sneak in through that floor. And as long as the never figured out that he existed, he'd be able to keep doing that. And that's what he planned to do.

Link stepped up the stony, grey stairs that lead up the the Bazaar. The tarps that covered the entrances flapped back and forth silently, letting the smell of musky potions and oil slip out of the building. The smell of it stabbed at Link's nostrils like knives, forcing him to cover his nose and mouth once again. Oddly enough, his stomach let out yet another growl, this one much louder than before. He used his free hand to clutch his stomach as he crouched over, the empty feeling in his gut actually possessing the ability to bring pain to his midsection. Link rose up, trying to ignore the lingering pain that ran all across his stomach, and slipped past the large, circular building quickly, wanting to escape to horrible smell that plagued his nostrils. He was greeted by the ominous set of stairs that led up to the Statue of the Goddess, as well as the bridge that led towards the upper entrance to the Academy. He darted up the wooden stairs, hearing their light creak underneath his feet. He passed underneath the yellow arch, dotted with multicolored stones, that had broken gates hanging off of the hinges. They had been broken from the time that he began sneaking into the Academy. He didn't know if they had been broken for the entirety of the time they had existed, or rather, someone had broken them and never bothered to fix them afterwards. He honestly couldn't care less about the fate of the broken gate doors; the sound of his rumbling stomach was all that occupied his mind at the time.

Link darted across the stone-and-grass bridge, relieved to hear no creaking noises underneath his feet. He was used to the noise, as expected, however it didn't cease to send waves of raw dread coursing through his bony body. He reached the small platform that sat in front of the secondary doors, and quickly, yet silently, opened up the large, wooden door. He let is shut softly, and he himself could barely hear the click it made when the locks clicked in place. His crystal blue eyes darted around, checking to make sure that no people were roaming around this late, like he was. His eyes met no other people's, and his pointed ears only heard the sound of reticence. His bare feet met the smoothed ground for the second time that day. He could barely make out the mud prints that he had tracked in mere hours ago on the other side of the room. Maybe someone had cleaned it earlier, or maybe someone had just trekked over it and washed it away that way. Yet again, all he really wanted to do was find food for him to eat, and mud was even farther behind the fate of the gate.

The silent child crept down the spiral stairs, his small hand grasping the edge of it for balance. His steps were shaky from malnutrition, something he hadn't really noticed until this point. He heard the familiar crackle of a fire from the kitchen, which made him shrink back out of fear. Link cautiously peered his head around the edge of the staircase, attempting to look out to the small window that looked into the kitchen. He saw no movement, just the dancing of the flames in the fire-pit. Link's stomach roared with hunger once more, and he knew that waiting to see if anyone was there would be pointless. He managed to gather enough force out of his exhausted body to launch himself over the small barrier, and his calloused feet hit the smooth ground. He darted into the kitchen, nearly slipping on a spot of mud that he had left from earlier. He slowed his pace, and entered the kitchen, only lit by the orange glow from the fire. The smell of food hit his nostrils, and for the first time that day, it was a smell that didn't make him cover his nose out of disgust. His eyes drifted over to the area behind the fire, something he thought was called a 'counter'. Fruit lay all across its pebbled surface, making his stomach growl for the mere thought of eating it. He went over to the 'counter' and grabbed one of the fruits in his skeletal hands. It was barely big enough to cover the entierty of it. He brought it to his mouth and ate it, smiling as he finally achieved what he came here to do.

Suddenly, he heard the creak of a door on the main level. Link's eyes widened and he dropped the fruit in his hand onto the ground, causing the juices to spray onto the fire. The fire sizzled and crackled with the spray of the water, making Link cringe at the much louder noise that it made. Footsteps echoed all throughout the hallway, getting louder and louder as they neared the kitchen. Link panicked and crouched down, hiding behind the fire-pit, waiting to see if anyone would walk in.

"I know you're there, thief. I'm not leaving until I see you come out of the kitchen!" the voice called out. Surprisingly, despite the loud, heavy footsteps, the voice of the person was extremely squeaky. It sounded like a guys voice, possibly, but at this point he didn't care. He had been discovered _yet again_, and there was no way that he was going to get out of this situation without someone seeing him. He peeked his head around the fire pit, and saw a gargantuan sized boy standing in the door frame. He had shockingly red hair, almost the color of crimson, that spiked up almost a foot on the air. Empty yellow eyes glared around the room, eyebrows slanted down in a look of pure, undeniable anger. He looked to be twice the size of Link, yet his face looked as though he was the same age as him. The massive boys' head quickly turned, and their eyes met. His yellow eyes widened immediately, but quickly fell back into another glare. Link took in a sharp breath as he stood up, scrambling to get his feet to propel him forwards and around the fire-pit. But he only met the blue fabric of the boys shirt. He stepped backwards a step, staring straight into the middle of the boys chest. His eyes drifted up, staring at the boys face, which was illuminated oddly in the orange light of the fire.

"Who are you, freak?" he exclaimed, stabbing Link in the chest with his finger. Link stumbled backwards, taken back by the sheer force that the boy had used against him. His eyes peered down to the floor, afraid to look him in the eyes and see his glaring yellow beads. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" He shoved Link's shoulders, sending the extremely underweight boy crashing into the barrels behind him. Link grabbed his head in pain, and yanked it away from his head when he felt it was wet. Small spots of crimson blood dotted his hand, making him feel nauseous at the sight of it. Black began to close in on the edges of his vision, but Link managed to shake it away. He slowly pushed himself up out of the barrel ruins, and somehow managed to find his balance.

Only to be met by the towering figure of the boy once more.

"I'm actually gonna be nice and ask you again, freak. Who are you?" he squeaked, try to make himself look even larger than he already was. He puffed out his chest so it nearly touched Link's face, making him extremely uncomfortable in this situation. He knew that this boy, whatever his name was, probably wasn't going to let him go write it out somewhere, based on his already predetermined hatred of him. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and there was no way that he'd be getting out of it soon. In a feeble attempt to explain to him, Link grabbed his throat with both of his hands in a mock choke, and began to furiously shake his head. The other boy tilted his head to the side in a look of befuddlement, his spiked red hair wobbling back and forth.

"I'm not gonna choke you, stupid." he sneered, practically spitting the words out at Link. "Just tell me who you are!"

Link let out an exaggerated sigh at this, flinging his stick-like arms down to his side. He gave himself little time to think, taking too long would be foolish; the giant boy was practically a ticking time bomb. He opened his mouth, moving as though he was talking, though the only sound in the room was the crackling of the fire. He then shook his head, and prayed to Hylia that the extremely angry boy in front of him.

The boy let out a laugh that was extremely high and squeaky. "Do you think I'm as stupid as you!" His personality took a complete 180 as his anger and frustration returned, hiding the miniscule mask of innocence and purity. I know you can talk, thief, and I'm not gonna leave 'till you do!"

Link felt tears began to well up in his eyes. He always had this reaction when people yelled at him, especially when it had to do with his inability to properly communicate. He tried to wipe them away before the other boy could see them, but continued to let them fall when he saw the boy smirk evilly. He laughed once more, throwing his head back so it was parallel to the floor. He hated people mocking him for something that he couldn't control. It would be like him making fun of the boys larger size, or maybe even his voice. It was cruel. He'd experienced something like this before, a couple of times, actually. But he didn't want those memories to resurface. Not here. Not now.

"You're such a baby. You can't talk, you're crying like you're two, and you can't even stand up for yourself. Maybe I can hit the answers out of you, you big baby." the boy sneered, rotating his pudgy arm backwards, almost in the shape of a bow and arrow. Link felt the memories of his past eating away at his mind, making him feel just as the boy described him; like a baby. He cowered back into the broken remains of the barrel had had crashed into just minutes before, waiting for the attack he was about to receive from this gargantuan boy. He wasn't going to fight; he didn't have the strength for it anymore. Neither physically, nor mentally. He gazed up with empty eyes and watched as the soulless boy glared down at him, eyes mad with power and evil. He watched as the boys figure began to morph and shape, shape into the one that plagued his every memory.

The boy dropped his arm slowly, yet the look of hatred still remained on his orange-lit face. "Not even gonna fight back? Okay, then, you ba-"

"Groose!" shrieked a familiar voice. Link cracked open his right eyes to look at the door frame. He hadn't even heard anyone coming down the hallway, and his senses were far above everyone elses. Blue eyes met ones of the same color, and he found himself staring straight at the face of Zelda.

Panic flooded Link's body. His eyes widened to the size of saucers, and he found himself acting without even thinking about what he was doing. He flailed his body, standing up faster than he ever had in his life. Turning to face the wall where the battered remains of the barrel sate, his crystal eyes laid upon a window just large enough for him to fit through. He placed his arms on the frame of a barrel, one he had somehow missed from the spectacle earlier, and launched himself onto the top of it.

"Link, wait! I have something-!"

He heard no more of her sentence. He lurched his skeletal body forwards and propelled himself towards the window, feeling the tiny shards of glass shatter all around him. He felt as they clawed at his face, and he clamped his eyes shut as tight as they could go. The sword sharp fragments sliced his arm and torso, his legs and his exposed bare feet. He let out a silent cry of pain as he flew through the air, terrified of where he would land. His whole plane was destined to fail no matter what he did. He didn't even know if this window faced the open sky or the ground, and he had only started thinking about it as he flew through the empty air. All of a sudden, he slammed against the ground, and found himself unable to breathe . He took quick, shallow breaths, trying to find something, _anything_, in his system that would let him breathe found the breath deep within his miniscule lungs, and took in a deep breath as he arched his back in the air. He expelled all of what he brought in, coughing louder than he ever had before. He laid on the ground, slowly becoming more and more aware of the shards of glass that stabbed at his body. He clenched his teeth in pain, so hard that he thought they would shatter from the sheer force of it. His hands balled into fists, knuckles as white as the sand on the edge of the pool. All he wanted to do was scream in pain; scream as loud as a Loftwing's screech. He opened his mouth, trying to force his vocal cords to produce any sound they would. Yet, all he got out of his efforts was a small squeak.

"Groose, stop it!" Zelda squealed, her voice laced with concern and order. Suddenly , Link saw Groose's monstrosity of red hair poke out the window, immidiately followed by the rest of his face. A wicked grin sat upon his rounded face, only showing his evil intentions. Link scrambled to his feet, ignoring the stabbing pain that was radiating off of his foot. Time seemed to slow down in that moment. Link watched in shock as Groose managed to fit his large body through the small window, and that only told him that he needed to escape. Going to his "house" was out of the question; he'd be followed and cornered quickly. He could of course just stall him, and just run around Skyloft until Groose became tired, or someone noticed him. That was already an option that he wasn't willing to take. The only other option...

Oh, dear Hylia, how he hated this option.

Link turned on his heels and sprinted off just as Groose's heavy feet hit the soft grass. He heard his footsteps behind him, but just far enough away to the point where he wouldn't catch him. His feet radiated pain, sending waves of the feeling throughout his entire body. His lungs burned, his arms felt limp, and, to say the least, he was falling over the edge of exhaustion. He could sleep later, after he was safe. Groose finding him, and beating him, would not be the greatest of ideas.

Link grabbed his left arm as it too began to throb in pain. His blue eyes burned as tears began to spill out of them, flowing behind him because of the sheer speed he was traveling at. He no longer heard Groose's footsteps, but that didn't mean he couldn't necessarily see him. Link turned sharply, only to find himself staring right at the locked front gate. There was no possible way for him to open the metallic gate, especially in the condition he was in. His eyes drifted over, and he spotted Groose, growing closer and closer to him with each passing second. Out of the corner of his tear filled eyes, he managed to spot two boxes stacked on top of each other. It was the only option at this point, and he knew years of sneaking and hiding in situations like this may be his only asset. Link took off towards the box, watching Groose out of the edges of his vision. Confusion radiated on the larger boys face, wondering why his soon to be victim was running full speed towards him. Link opened his mouth in a mock scream, gaining speed as he ran full speed towards the boxes. He crouched down as he ran, and used whatever small muscles he had in his legs to launch himself up. He extended his bony arm, and felt the top of the box underneath his hand. He grasped it as tightly as he could, and managed to pull himself up onto it. He quickly jumped onto the second, staring down at Groose below. Steam was practically fuming out of his ears.

His eyes drifted yet again as he saw another shape that managed to climb through the window. Zelda hopped down gracefully, sun-yellow locks flying up into the air. Her pink dress, which she hadn't changed out of for some reason, twirled around, making her look similar to a Loftwing in flight. "Groose, stop! He didn't do anything." she pleaded, walking up to the larger boy, who towered a good foot above her. "He was just hungry." she looked up and smiled at him. Link, at this point, finally noticed that she had another piece of fruit gripped in his petite hands. Using all the strength she had, she managed to toss the circular thing up to him, which he caught just before gravity took it back to the ground. Link nodded his head lightly, showing his thanks to the girl. She nodded back, obviously understanding what he was trying to signal.

In the time Zelda had thrown the fruit to Link, neither of them had noticed Groose as he began to climb up the boxes, similar to what Link had done. Before long, Zelda pointed over to the box as Groose's massive hair peeked over the edge of the second box. "Run, Link!" she screamed, running over to the boxes herself. Link took off yet again, attempting to hold both the fruit, and his injured arm. He heard the second box creak underneath Groose's weight, before finally hearing his triumphant shout ring out across the barren village. Link sprinted down the stairs, trying his hardest not to miss one and send himself flying down its hard surface. He heard Groose's heavy feet not far behind him, sending worry and panic to every corner of his mind.

He directed himself back towards the pool, hopping across the four pedestals that led to where he was resting earlier. He turned his head quickly and saw Groose, stepping carefully over each of the rocks so he didn't slip and fall. A smile, which seemed unfitting for his current situation, slipped past his lips as he saw Groose struggling to catch up to him. He snake past all the tree sprouts, which hadn't seemed to have grown any in his entire lifetime. And then he found himself facing the very place of his fears.

The waterfall cave.

He felt his body began to tremble just staring at the thing. Hylia knows what would happen if he actually tried to go inside. He took in a breath, trying to calm down his shaking body before he went inside. There was no turning back now. He could swim, barely, but not enough to get him the other side of the pool. He'd run into Groose, if he just chose to run back instead. He knew he'd rather meet Groose than drown, but would risk drowning if he didn't have to go inside the darkness of the cave. But death wouldn't be his escape, no, not if life was just inside his fear.

And so, the silent child stepped inside the mouth of the pitch black cave, taking away his peace of mind - and whatever sanity he had left at that point - all to escape the punishing of a deranged boy no older than him.

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**Imagination that: There's the Groose confrontation I promised you. I hope it lived up to expectations!**

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**These chapters are oddly enough getting shorter and shorter. Sorry about that.**

**I was struggling to continue after this part, and I really don't know why, so I figured '_Why hold off on giving a chapter when you can just give them a cliffhanger and be really and mean about it?'. _You're so welcome for that, by the way.**

**Anyway, we hit over 300 view for ****this story over the course of about 30 days! I love you all so much for this, and it's an amazing feeling knowing that people appreciate what I'm writing. That didn't happen at all with the last fanfic I wrote, and I was debating whether or not to post this entire thing because of what happened with the last one. But anyway, I think the next chapter will be up sooner rather than later. It will most likely be from Zelda's perspective at first, then followed by Link's. By the way, to avoid any confusion, all chapters will either be from Link or Zelda's point of view, so just clearing that up now. **

**Thank you all for reading this! I hope you enjoyed the little fight between Groose and Link! See you in the next update!**

**-PossiblyAGinger**


	4. Confined in the Midst of a Phobia

**Hey y'all! No real AN at the top, but there will be one at the bottom. Only responses to Guest Reviews!**

**Guest: Thanks for the review! I feel bad for having Groose beat up Link, but, knowing Groose, it seems like something his four year old self would do. Oops.**

**Steve: Thank you for the review! Yes, Groose can _definitely _be a bit... tedious at times, but he has to come in sooner rather than later. And I do shout out every guest review who does review, so if you keep reviewing, it's definitely gonna happen every time you review!**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of the _Legend of Zelda _franchise.**

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The empty silence ran through the air, leaving Link to only the sound of his thoughts. There was the faint hum of the waterfall pounding against the wall, but that was nothing in comparison to the reticent noise that hung in the murky air. The stale emanation of water wafted through Link's nostrils, mixed with that of the rocks and wild plants that grew and thrived in the depths of the cave. Over the tip of the a broken wall, the edge of the roaring water was let it, giving the slightest bit of eerie light into the confines of the rocks. The entrance to the place was narrow, maybe two or three times the width of himself, even at his thinnest state. He couldn't image a full sized person trying to fit themselves into this place without getting stuck, or immediately having to turn around. The feeling of claustrophobia nipped at his senses, making Link's body shrink up in the sense that he was cramped. He rubbed his arms against his side, trying to provide himself warmth in the oddly cold cave. The village of Skyloft was typically warm, never really reaching the sense of "emptiness" that he was experiencing now. Goosebumps ran up and down his exposed arms and face, and he could feel them creeping up underneath his brown pants. A shiver ran up his protruding spine, possibly from the slightly wet ground that he was stepping on. He clenched his teeth and stepped on, listening to the now significantly louder roars that came from the waterfall.

The shafts of lift that crept in through the holes in the walls reflected off the shiny surface of the stones that lined the cave, sending the pale moonlight straight into Link's river blue eyes. He blinked repeatedly, trying to get the oddly bright lights out of his line of sight. He put his hand in front of his eyes, drifting his eyes down to look down at the slightly-wet ground. Puddles of water were dotted all across the floor, lining up to the wall that the moonlight shot out from. He suspected that more of them were probably running across the remainder of the cave floor, due to the fact that the waterfall was next to a hole of massive size. Link began to walk forwards, footsteps echoing loudly throughout the empty cave. He could hear the faint drips of water from the ceiling, hitting the ground with a satisfying _clink_. The cave was so simplistically elegant, the opposite from what he was imagining what it would be like. Link had imagined darkness, seemingly infinite darkness, gnawing at the edges of his non-functioning vision with every footstep. He imagined the emptiness that silence often gave, trapping the boy only in his thoughts. Under normal circumstances, it was something he could be able to handle. He often dealt with things like this; being restricted to his own thoughts in the dead of night. But only hearing what ran through your mind, especially in a situation where you were confined to the thing that haunted your deepest nightmares, would more than likely cause a severe sense of stress that he would't need.

He kicked around at the ground, sending small stones flying across the floor of the cave. One landed in a puddle, sending droplets of water flying up into the air. The shards of moonlight caught in the beads of water, giving them the appearance of crystals. Link had once heard of these objects, treasures even, called Goddess Plumes. He had never seen one, no, but he had overheard plenty from one of the many other children that ran around Skyloft. One in particular, a tall and lanky blonde with cheeks as red as Groose's hair, had talked about them in extreme detail. They looked like feathers, according to the boy, and glistened like they were in a constant stream of sunlight. Their colors ran in wild colors, varying from pink to purple to white. He knew that the small drop of murky water cascading through the air of a rocky, gray cave would be nothing in comparison to the suspected beauty of the Goddess Plumes.

The drops obeyed the forces of gravity and plummeted back into the murky puddle, sending an array of ripples pulsating across its reflective surface. A smile crept cross Link's face, the small indentations in his cheeks showing with his grin. He felt odd smiling at the situation, yet again, since he was trapped in the cave where many upon many had gone missing. Maybe it was just the small sections of otherworldly beauty that he was seeing in this dark place. He found himself often smiling at the simplest things. He even smiled when Zelda had splashed mud onto the quilt she had with her, earlier that day. He hated his inability to control his goofy and clueless actions. It was yet another thing about himself that bothered him.

Link walked forwards again and came to another stop, eyes peering over a small ledge that led to another section of the cave. It wasn't too large, possibly about two times the height of him. He had to go down the ladder leading to his refuge, and that was _far_ larger than this now-seemingly minuscule drop. But, for some reason, he could feel beads of sweat begin to run down his moonlight face. Understandably, heights were one of the things that bothered him, among other things. The fear of falling off the edge of Skyloft, and no knight nearby able to find him, terrified him. He despised living in the Sky, and occasionally, he yearned to live beneath the clouds on the Surface, even with the thousands of monsters that lived there. Link took in a deep gulp, shutting his eyes as he lowered himself down into a crouch. He dangled his legs over the edge, bare feet hitting the edge of the wall. He set his arm at an angle, and pushed himself down onto the ground beneath him. He felt the solid rock beneath his feet, relieving the stress that was swirling around in his head.

He opened his eyes agin, letting the new perspective of the cave overtake his mind. He looked out the massive hole that let in the moonlight, as well as the cascading tears from the waterfall. He felt droplets of the aqua-blue water fall down onto his bony face, rolling down it until they finally fell down to the floor of the oddly-illuminated cave. He silently giggled at the feeling, his mind warping back to earlier in the day, to the point where he met that girl. He didn't know why it reminded him of this, possibly because of the mud she splashed, but it was immediately where his mind went to. And, if were to be completely honest, he didn't really mind it.

The rushing of the thousands of gallons of water pounded in his pointe ears, relieving the slight stress that the empty silence had given him. His eyes drifted away from the large opening in the ceiling, making their way over to the ground. They fell upon a platform, sprouting with different plants and flowers. His fear of the cave was diminishing by each passing second, being replaced with pure awe and dumbfoundedness that the cave had bestowed upon his mind. He never wanted to leave it, he wanted to live here for the remainder of his hidden life. However, people had seen him come in here, and they'd always know where he was hidden, which is not anything that he wanted people to know.

Link continued on his path, head peering in different directions to look at everything the cave had inside. The walls still glimmered with their silverly glow from the large moon above his head, casting odd shadows on every square inch of the cave. He could see the faint outline of the cave, far from where he was walking. He yearned to exit the cave, but didn't want to go back outside into the darker version of the world. He didn't even have the slightest idea as to where the exit would lead to. It could plummet off of Skyloft for all he knew. He began to pick up speed, however, trying to reach the exit of the cave as fast as he could.

Suddenly, he heard a noise above his head. He quickly turned it upwards, large blue eyes meeting those of a demented looking bat. It's piercing yellow eyes gleaming with pure insanity. The fangs that poked out the bat's mouth dripped with saliva, sending drops of the disgusting liquid down onto Link's sandy blonde hair. He shuddered as it rolled down his face, making him hunch his shoulders up towards his head. His eyes quickly widened as the bat let out a sickening screech and began to fly down at him, teeth bared as if he were to attack the silent child. Link's mouth opened in a silent scream, his feet scrambling underneath him to find some form of traction. He began to run forwards, following the twisting and winding path that the cave had provided for him. Running out of fear was no easy task, especially when more than half of the cave floor was covered in puddles of water.

It didn't help much as his vision began to deteriorate as well.

Pausing just enough to see the large above him, he noticed a massive cloud drifting its way across the star-dotted sky. He felt his heart drop, and could physically feel himself paling as he saw the trajectory of the cloud. It began to cover the moon, cutting off the only light source that the cave was provided with. And soon enough, the boy was encased in the thick confines of his worst fear: darkness.

His heart began to pound rapidly; he could feel the thing practically urging to burst out of his puny chest. His eyes darted around, aching to find anything in the darkness that could possibly tell him what direction he was standing in. However, there was nothing he could see, everything was as black as the night itself. The exit of the cave was no longer in sight, Hylia, he couldn't even see where he was going. He began to physically tremble, as if he had just been dipped into the river when the sun wasn't out. But, unlike the few times that he had unfortunately done that, there was no way that he could warm himself here. Cold sweat began to run down his face, but at this point, he wasn't certain as to whether or not it was his own, or rather the saliva of the atrocious bat that still lingered in the cave.

Link's ears twitched as he heard the sound of wings flapping, no more than an arms length away from the back of his head. The bat let out another screech, causing the silent child to cover his ear out of the heinous sounds that it produced. He flipped around, mis eyes meeting the _glowing_ ones of the bats. He gasped, actually making somewhat of a small noise for once in his life. He tried to run again, feet meeting a murky puddle in front of his foot. A jagged rock stabbed into the bottom of his foot, causing the boy to retract it away in pain. He felt tears begin to roll down his face, and he clenched his bottom lip between his petite white teeth.

The boy began to hear the sound of more and more wings flapping behind him. In quick succession, he saw the yellow eyes of possibly _hundreds_ of these bats open, barely showing their yellow glow. They small light cast by their eyes was just enough to illuminated their pig-like faces. Their pointed fangs gleamed in the chrome colored light, haunting Link's mind. He would much rather be in complete darkness than know that these... _**things**_... were just a few feet behind him.

The silent child, caught in a state of both literal and figurative blind panic, began to go into a full on sprint, feet running faster than his body could carry him. The continuous sound of flapping wings echoed in his pointed ears, drowning out the sound of his thoughts. His breath was heavy and ragged, and he felt as if his lungs were constricting inside of his body. He felt as if he were drowning, drowning in the darkness that plagued every single inch of his fragile mind. He felt as if he were on the brink of hyperventilation, something that he had only experienced one other time in his life. And that wasn't something that was a necessary thought.

Suddenly, he felt his body weight shift forwards as his foot caught on the edge of a platform. Oddly enough, as his face fell down to the ground, he realized it was the same platform that he had seen earlier; the one with all of the plants that had nearly caused him to change his mind about this demented place. He felt the breeze of the wings of the bats move the small blades of grass that stuck out of the odd dirt. He gripped his head between his arms, preparing for the bats to attack him, and send him to his inevitable death. His eyes drifted up, grasping to find any sort of vision. His eyes found the wall, it's once reflective surface matching the blackness of the rest of the cave. Tears still ran down his bony face dripping down onto the dirt and rock covered floor. A small puddle began to form on his skeletal hand, and it didn't bother him. He was still shaking uncontrollably, and there was nothing that he could do to escape his greatest fear.

He reached out his hand and shook off the water, wanting the feeling off of his hand. Yet, as soon as he reached his out, fearful that his hand would hit the wall, it passed through nothing. He reached his hand around, somehow discovering a small crevice in the wall. It seemed large enough for a person to fit inside, possibly a hiding place...

He crawled forwards, getting his entire body onto the top of the rocky platform. He moved backwards, showing his feet into the back of the hiding place where he would find himself. He looked up, seeing the swarm of bats swirling around above him, attempting to locate the boy that they believed would be their prey. He submerged himself into the hole in the wall of the cave, his head not even peeking out of the small whole. Somehow, although it wasn't surprising to Link in any sort of way, he could fit his entire body into the hole without a problem.

He closed his tired eyes, not caring what happened to him at this point. He weakly shoved his body backwards, fitting himself into the hole to the point where there would be no way for anyone, or anything, to see him. He suddenly became very aware of how utterly exhausted his body was, and all he really wanted to do was rest his eyes. Maybe just for a few minutes, maybe just until the sun came back up and he could see again...

He laid his head on his hands, trying to make himself comfortable in this extraordinarily claustrophobic place. He could feel the waves of unconsciousness propelling themselves into his mind, and it didn't take long before the boy succumbed to his own nightmares.

* * *

Zelda wasn't the type of person to stick her nose into other people's business, at least not when she wasn't somehow related to the person affected. She didn't technically _know_ Link, for instance, but she felt as if she had some sort of responsibility over the completely silent boy she had met earlier that day. Or maybe it was yesterday; she had lost track of the time when she had heard all the noise coming from the kitchen. Her father hadn't taught her how to understand the time based off of the location of the sun and the moon. It was something that he had planned on teaching her before she entered Primary, and that wasn't too far away.

But now, since Link was a person she felt... connected to in a weird sense, she had most definitely followed Groose and Link after they had jumped out of the kitchen. She felt horrible for the mute boy, all he had wanted was food, and he hadn't realized that was something Groose also did nowadays. They had found Groose in a rogue part of Skyloft as well, although they had received a note from the parents as to why he was all alone. Her father had immediately taken her out of that house after he read the note. She still really knew why though, but she figured there wouldn't be a time when her father would tell her. That was nearly a year ago, and she remembered all of it in detail.

The young blonde, being the responsible child that she was, decided against jumping out of the broken window. It had looked painful when Link had done it, not as much so when Groose had leapt out of the extremely tiny thing. Letter gripped tightly in her hand, she had instead taken the exit upstairs. She knew that Henya, who was probably one of the nicest people she had met in her entire four-year lifespan, constantly left the upper door unlocked. It was for the knights patrolling around the area, a quick way to get back inside of the Academy if they really needed to. She had asked her father about it once, yet for some reason, she felt as if there were another reason as to why this was true.

She opened up the large doors as quietly as she could, fearful of waking any of the students that roomed up on this floor. There was only one, Orielle obviously, but there was another, much less forgiving student who also stayed up here.

She hadn't really gone outside that much during the night; her father was afraid that she would accidentally fall down to the Surface. She didn't really fear the Surface, now that she thought about it, she was more or less intrigued by what was beneath the layer of clouds. But that wasn't the main focus of what she was going to do at this point. She had to find Link and Groose, and stop the red-headed boy from hurting her silent... friend. She wanted to give him the letter, she wanted him to read it and write back to her.

She walked across the bridge, looking down at the pool of the waterfall. It glowed with the light of the the full moon, reflecting off of it in some otherworldly beauty. She was upset that her father never let her see this; it was something that she wanted to paint a picture of, and imprint it permanently into her mind. The strings of lights that hung around the square of Skyloft added to the undiscovered beauty of the nighttime. Glowing bugs, she really didn't know any creative name for it, flew all around the plants that were scattered around the surface of the floating island.

Her eyes drifted back to the waterfall pool, seeing movement out of the corner of her eye. She saw the two fighting boys, Link first, quickly followed by Groose. The quiet boy quickly leapt across the rocky pedestals, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Groose seemed timid and fearful of the rocks and water. She thought that she had seen the other boy smile at Groose's fear. It was kind of mean, but based off of Groose's impractical beating that had happened earlier the night.

She remained on the bridge, watching what else was going to happen between the two boys. She saw Link weave between the baby trees on the other side of the pool. And then, the boy stopped. He just simply stood there, standing in front of the giant rock figure that dipped into the pool. Then, the boy did something even more surprising.

He entered the waterfall cave.

She had overheard her father, once, saying how someone had gone into the cave. Possibly a knight, she believed, because he had sounded extremely concerned as to where they had gone. Her father had talked to her later that day, saying that she was to _never_, under any sort of circumstance, enter that cave without a knight, or him, by her side. And Link, someone who was probably much weaker than Zelda herself, strolled into the place as if it were no big deal. Then again, she suspected Link didn't really know that much about the cave, but what did she know? He could live in there for all she knew.

Zelda began to feel rage overtake her mind, steam practically fuming out of her petite, pointed ears. The girl marched across the bridge, down the stairs of the broken gate, and made a direct path to Groose, who had now given up on trying to get across the rock pedestals. He didn't even notice as the girl stomped over towards him; he was too focused on how the _**freak**_ had escaped him, and even went into the cave! It just showed how much of a freak he really was! It bothered Groose, unbeknownst to his four-year-old emotions.

"Groose!" Zelda exclaimed, balling up her tiny hands into fists. She released the pressure in one of them once she remembered the valuable letter that she still had encased inside of her grasp, making sure not to dent or damage it too much. The red-headed boy turned to face her, a smug smiled dancing across his pale, moonlit face. He gave a sheepish wave, which was unlike the large boy's pompous personality. Even in the poor lighting, she could see the boy's face begin to get as red as his hair. It was a funny sight; he began to look like one of the local kids that she had met once. But the girl continuously marched over to the gargantuan redhead, stomping her feet on the ground furiously. The blonde girl practically stood right in front of him, and although she was a full foot shorter than Groose, she still had the same intimidating look plastered across her usually smile-filled face.

"H-Hi Zelda," Groose stammered, still giving the girl the same sheepish wave as earlier. Him acting like this was a complete contradiction to his ordinary personality; all he ever did was boast about whatever he did, no matter how unimportant it really was. He had once gone on for a full cloud-length about how he had climbed the tree in front of the Bazaar. The boy couldn't never stalk talked about himself, how completely and utterly amazing all of his minuscule actions were. And yet, every time Zelda came up to talk to him, the self-filled personality that typically adorned him faded into one of shyness, and constantly left her in a state of confusion. "H-How are you d-doing?" he continued, trying to break the uncomfortable tension that was practically hanging right in front of their faces.

It didn't work in the slightest. Zelda glared up at the boy, her crystal blue eyes meeting his haunted yellow ones. Her face was scrunched up, as it usually was when she was mad at someone, or something. Her slim arms folded across her tiny chest, and her foot tapped the ground repeatedly. She was trying to give Groose every signal that she was mad at him, but she knew that his personality wouldn't ever let him see the waves of anger she was trying to give to him.

"Why did you do that, Groose? Link was just hungry, and you hurt him bad!" she exclaimed. Her arms flailed out to there sides dramatically, attempting to show him just how completely upset she was at him. However, she could feel the swirling void of anger that as building up inside of her begin to diminish, and instead getting replaced by that of sadness and unease. Link, the boy she had met only a mere sun-turn ago. The guilt was welling up inside of her. What if she was in that kitchen before Groose was? What if she had come earlier, before Groose had hurt him? Why didn't she stop Link from running away, running into the cave that would only lead to him getting even more hurt? The rage was instantaneously replaced by that feeling, washing it away quicker than she could ever imagine. Her eyes drifted down the ground, staring at the boys brown shoes. She refused to look him in the eyes anymore after what she did.

What Zelda didn't notice was Groose adjusting himself into a position, one that mirrored her own. Her large arms folded across his large chest, but she did see as his foot began to tap in mock fashion. "Why did you do that, Groose?" he asked in a voice that sounded nothing like her own, but she knew he was only doing that to tease her. He stopped tapping his foot and threw his arms down to the side, just as she had done seconds earlier. "I don't care if he was hungry. I ain't gonna let him steal our food!" His hands balled up into fists, and it looked as if he were punching the air. Groose could go from someone who seemed timid and shy to the most violent person she knew in a matter of seconds. It was a terrifying sight; although she had never been on the receiving end of it, she had seen it happen to Karane and Pipit before. And they were already in their third year of Primary, much older than either of the four year olds. But Groose could still find it in himself to be mean to anyone that he wanted to.

Zelda glanced up at the large redhead. His eyes were pointed in a glare, one that typically laid on his face, so it wasn't as if this was a foreign sight to the young blonde. She wanted to hit him in the arm as hard as she could, but feared for the consequences she would likely receive if she did that. She knew Groose was a liar, and an excellently believable one at that. He could hurt her like he did to Link earlier, and say that someone else did it. He could say she fell down or something, and since there was no one around to prove anything else, they could believe him. It was something she feared; being overpowered by the redheaded boy. But she wasn't going to let him know anytime soon. It was something her father had taught her.

"Stop it, Groose." she commanded, placing her petite hands on her hips. She stared confidently up at the boy, not afraid of what he would do or say anymore. She had been filled with a sudden confidence, one that was usually hidden beneath her timidness. "It wasn't nice. You're being mean."

Groose laughed at her comment. It seemed to echo all around the square, and she feared someone would wake at the sound of it. They were lucky enough at this point to not be caught by anyone, but she knew that the luck wouldn't last. "Mean? Oh no, I'm so hurt. Maybe as hurt as your new _friend-"_

"Stop it!" she screamed, her voice shrill and loud. She knew that the shyness Groose had shown earlier was only going to last so long, and right now, it was crumbling away as quickly as she suspected.

"Zelda! Groose!" a voice bellowed from behind them. She looked up and saw Groose's yellow eyes widen at whoever the voice came from. He gave her a sly grin and turned around, sprinting in the opposite direction of the bellowing voice. There was nothing she could do to stop him at this point. But him running away could only mean one thing, and it wasn't someone that she wanted to meet out at this time. Of course, her father had to find them.

Zelda slowly turned around, watching as her father stomped over to the two of them. This is probably how she looked when she had approached Groose, except **_much _**less menacing than her father was. He carried a torch in his left hand, the orange flames crackling and spitting ashes onto the grassy ground. He was followed by a group of five nights, ones that she had met before. She couldn't remember any of their names for the life of her, however, but that really didn't concern her at the moment.

"Daddy, Groose-!"

"I don't care, Zelda. I told you to never go outside, and here you are! You need to listen to me from now on! I don't want you to get hurt!" he yelled, flinging his arm that held the torch to the side of his body. She had never seen her father get this angry before. Her eyes began to well with tears, ones that could only come from the fear that was now beginning to well inside of her. She gripped the letter in her hand shakily, afraid to let her father see it. She didn't want him to take away what she and Orielle had worked on. She wanted Link to have it, and that couldn't happen if he took it from her.

"I-I-I s-saw Link, d-daddy." she mumbled, gasping for breath with every word she feebly spoke. She could taste her salty tears as they rolled down her face and into her pouted mouth. She wiped them away with her shaking hand, the one that didn't hold the letter. She looked up her father, who was now lowering herself down so he could meet her eyes. He reached out his thumb and wiped away the tears that were still spilling down her blotchy face. He gave her a small smile, not one that was completely sincere, however. He was fuming outside at how his daughter hadn't listened. He had already lost someone vitally important to him in the mystery of the night. He didn't need to lose his daughter as well...

"Tell me where you saw him, Zelda. I can go and find him, okay?" he asked her, placing a large hand on her shoulder. She tried to scrunch it away as he touched it, too embarrassed at this point to look him in the eyes anymore. She looked down at the ground again, eyes locked on a small pebble that sat in the long blades of grass.

She kicked the pebble, sending it flying a couple of feet away. "He w-went in the c-cave, d-daddy. T-the one in t-the waterfall." she murmured. She wanted to sit down on the ground and just cry, but she knew that her father would talk to her for an extensive amount of time once they returned to the Academy. She probably wouldn't even be able to go back outside at all for the rest of her life!

Gaepora immediately stood up, turning around to the small group of knights that he had brought with him. "We're going into the cave. Find torches, find weapons, find _anything_ you can use inside of there in order to keep you safe. Look for a child, one about the age of my daughter. He is an excellent hider, be sure to look all around in order to find him. We will not leave until we have rescued him, understood?" he commanded. The group of knights saluted him, and they quickly shuffled back towards the Academy, ready to gather all that Gaepora had told them to. He turned to face his daughter once again, extending out his hand for her to grab it. "I'm taking you back to the Academy, Zelda. Orielle will watch over you until I return."

"No, daddy! I want to f-find Link! I-I could h-have stopped, h-him, but I didn't, and I-I want to know he's o-okay-"

"Zelda, I refuse! That cave is far too dangerous for you to be skipping along inside, and I don't need you getting hurt!" Gaepora exclaimed, lowering himself down to his daughters eye level once more. Her puffy red eyes looked into his own, showing the sadness that was confined inside of her small body. Again, he felt compelled to trust her, but he knew that listening to his thoughts would only lead to disaster. He had been lucky last time to catch Link and Zelda when he did; he was certain Link would have sprinted off if he hadn't shown up. But that feeling just kept turning inside of his mind, as prominent as the moon in this nearly-clear sky.

"Please, daddy. I'll stay r-right next to you." she begged, grasping her hands together in a praying fashion. It was then that his eyes fell upon the parchment that was in her hand, seeing the blue ink that very clearly said 'Link' in another persons handwriting. He knew this was one of the reasons why she wanted to go find the silent child. He smiled at her and nodded his head, the thing barely moving up and down to show him agreeing to this absurd idea. She wrapped her small arms around his neck, hugging her father for actually agreeing to let her do something so crazy. She heard the footsteps of the knights returning, the sound of the flames crackling from their torches. She looked over, seeing the group standing directly behind her father. Her father stood up, wrapping his massive hand around his daughters.

"We saw the other boy, headmaster. He ran into the Academy the same time we did." one of them said, stepping up closer to her father. He had a large figure, standing at almost the same height of her father. The blue hat of his knight uniform blew softly in the ordinary Skyloft wind. Gaepora nodded, happy to know that the other child he was technically responsible for was at least safe inside the confines of the Academy.

Gaepora turned to face the group of knights. "Wryna!" he exclaimed, motioning towards the only female knight that stood in the very back of the huddle. She snaked her way up towards the front of the ground. Her short, choppy brown hair was complimented by her light blue uniform. "I need you to keep an eye on my daughter while we're in the cave. Make sure she stays with us the entire time, understood?" The knight, Wryna, nodded her head excitedly, looking down at the young blonde who stood behind her father leg. She gave her a warm smile, wanting to make sure that the child at least felt some form of safety while she was inside this terrifying place.

The group began on their journey, walking over the pedestals with ease, and over to the cave, all to find a boy who - at this point - might not even be alive anymore.

* * *

**This was a bit of a filler. **

**I have it so clouds are typically extremely large, so in that sense, a "cloud-length" is ****equivalent to about twenty-thirty minutes. Doesn't that only spell fun for our little friend trapped in the cave! Also, sun-turn signifies a period of about 12 hours, because the people of Skyloft (at least to me) see each "day" consisting of two sections; (obviously) night and day. Each lasts about 12 hours, as said, day lasting from about 6 a.m to 6 p.m, and night lasting from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m, thus earning the name of a "sun-turn". This is just for future reference, and really is just a time-keeping sense that I feel they would have in this time period.**

**I decided to give Groose an interesting backstory in this story. I suspect some of you got what I was saying, regarding the note, and Gaepora escorting Zelda out of the house as soon as he read it. I will go more into this later, as it is the key and driving factor into why Groose became the way that he is. But, if you have no clue as to what I was talking about, you will be in for a surprise in later chapters.**

**This chapter was oddly difficult to write. I couldn't figure out how to start it for a while, but I eventually got the right footing in order to start it. I did stay up until about 2 thinking about the way to properly do this, and hopefully, you guys like it!**

**Thank you for all the reviews and follows/favorites! We've reached a staggering 600 - nearly 700 - views! I think there's about 15 reviews at the time I wrote this, 18 follows, and 10 favorites. Thank you all so much for the support! I still plan on PM'ing people if they review, so if I missed you last time, please let me know! People showing appreciation for your work, no matter how small it is, is something extremely important to me, and it only feels right to return that gratitude. **

**So that's about it for this chapter. It may take a while for the next one to be posted, but hey, I have all of spring break to write it (which really isn't that long, but whatever)! I promise there will be an interaction between our two favorite four year olds next time! I wanted it to be in this chapter, but it felt like it would be _extremely _long if I did to that. And besides, I can go into more detail if I put it in the next chapter!**

**See you next time!**

**-PossiblyAGinger**


	5. Depurative Silence

**EXTREMELY IMPORTANT INFORMATION IS IN THE BOTTOM A.N! MAKE SURE TO READ IT!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in the _Legend of Zelda _franchise.**

**But hey, random note, I just got OmmWriter! I'm really hoping it will help me break periods of Writers Block faster, so maybe I can get chapters posted quicker! I managed to write a solid 4,500 words in one day!**** It _really _helps out, so if you're trying to get out of writers block, I'd definitely suggest that.**

* * *

He could feel as everything around him begin to shift, though he wasn't quite sure whether this was reality, or some sort of twisted nightmare he was confined in. The empty echoes that silence left imprinted on his ear drums repeated, over and over again, drowning out even the sounds of the boys own thoughts. He could feel his mind begin to break under the weight of it, the small cracks in his somewhat stable mind growing larger and larger, snaking down their path until they reached their eventual end. He knew his vision was deplete; the only thing he could see was the shadows that haunted his thoughts. But now, as he sat hiding in a hollow passage carved out in the wall, he couldn't tell what was real, or what was simply a creation of his twisted mind.

The only thing that broke the silence that the cave had created was the occasional sound of a bat, twirling around in the air above his head. He could see their eyes - the desolate, glowing shells - as they swooped down to the ground in an attempt to find their prey. Their pointed fangs gleamed in the light of the glow erupting out of the eyes of their brethren, a simple message to the silent child what would have happened to him if he had not found this place to reside. He began to tremble, not even able to keep his hand still for more than a millisecond. At this point, it was left to Hylia to determine whether or not this reaction was out of fear, out of the pure and burning terror that grew in the pit of his heart, or rather his body physically shutting itself down. He hadn't eaten in a week, slept in over three days. He had spent all of his time sneaking around, attempting not to be found. He had spent it running all across the place where he resided, afraid to let anyone know of his simplistic presence. He let a sigh escape his breaking lips, watching as the breath in front of him turned into something clearly visible to his eye. It danced up towards the ceiling, flowing around gracefully, before dissipating out above him. The fog began to cascade down, settling down across the rocky surface of the cave. He breathed in the fumes, before coughing them out harshly. It felt as if his lungs were on fire, as if he had taken a coal from the fire burning in the kitchen of the Academy and shoved it down his throat, feeling as the rock slid down his throat and into his hollow abdomen. He hunched up onto his knees, dry gagging in a feeble attempt to get whatever was inside of him out. But as he had eaten nothing, there was nothing for his body to expel. He flipped over onto his back, feeling as the barren landscape dug into the crevices of his back. Rocks jut out against his spine, causing flares of pain to flow out across his entire body. His mouth opened in a silent scream; arms clenching as hard as they could during the process. He could feel the veins in them begin to stick out, his knuckles begin to turn white. He felt aware of everything that happened around him; every blink, every breath, every miniscule movement that had no affect on the rest of his fate here.

He heard the screeches of the bats grow louder and louder, and felt as their presence grew closer to him with every passing second. The unmistakable sound of their leathery wings flapping up and down, the very things that blessed them with their ability to fly, echoed in his pointed ears, replacing that of the silence he had become accustomed to. Both left a sickening feeling in his stomach, although it was more or less the burning sensation that still sat, lodged in the lower part of his gut. He heard as the mouth of the demented creature opened wide, as the irreplaceable sound of it's hissing screech penetrated his eardrums. The tips of their gleaming fangs nipped at the corner of his ear, far enough away that it wasn't a threat, but close enough so Link could be alerted of its presence near him. Cold sweat ran down his forehead, rolling down as if it were something trailing out of the waterfall just outside of the cave he hid inside. The salty fluid ran across the corner of his mouth, and his face twisted into one of disgust as soon as they made contact with each other. He still laid trembling on the ground, eyes staring up at the obsidian rock that mocked him being here, showing him that he could never truly escape the cold, dead confines of the shadows and darkness. If he turned so his head face the hole that led to his ultimate demise, it was shown to him in the truest of its forms, the one that he truly feared the most. if he flipped himself completely, he stared right back into the eyes of the creature, just like he was doing now. And if he chose to ignore it all, chose to close his eyes and attempt to forget about everything around him, he would see the darkness that his body created. There was no escape, no chance to be released from the grasp of the intangible state-of-light that he feared more than anything.

He laid his arms across his chest, similar to how a knight looked as they were buried after a death in the field. He had attended a ceremony once, as they were held underneath the tree in the Graveyard. All of the tombstones there were dedicated to all those who had fallen in their knighthood. He clearly remembered the one he had seen; the youngest knight in the entire era of Skyloft. The group of graduates from that year had been battling against the native octorocks one evening. His Loftwing had been hit, in the eye, and couldn't see where it was going. He had crashed into a rock and fallen in the dead of night, unconscious and unable to call for help. There had been a platform beneath him, thirty yards beneath him...

He had hit the ground and died before anyone had even noticed he had fallen in the first place.

It was one of the driving factors in both of his greatest fears: falling, as well as the irrational fear of darkness. He could wrap his mind around falling, there would either be a platform too far beneath him for a chance of survival, or there would be nothing but the clouds, a straight shot into the Surface world that sat nearly one-thousand times that height. But darkness was, as he had stated, irrational. The incident had only occurred at night, it had nothing to do with how the young man had died. He could understand a fear of octorocks, even a fear of flying, for Hylia's sake. He couldn't comprehend darkness. It was too far out of his grasp for him to ever get a hold on why this was the thing that caused him so much fear.

Suddenly, an echoing laughter filled up the room, reaching every nook and cranny that darkness had grasped onto. It wasn't like anything he had heard before, the joyous ringing the people made during times of peace and happiness, the noise that constantly emitted from the mouths of people his age at every action they performed. It was one that matched the characteristics of the darkness itself; cold, empty, completely desolate of any form of emotion that he could fathom.

"There is no escape from me, silent child." the voice whispered, the sound of it hissing and snaking around in the air. The eyes of the boy widened, yet there was no one around that could actually see the haunted fear that sat in his irises. The voice of the man that had spoken was odd, and similarly to the voice, was devoid of any sort of mundane emotion and characteristics. "I am everywhere."

The ground beneath Link began to shake, and at this point, it wasn't a shock to him. He was certain is was the terror that shook him, both physically and mentally. He never noticed as the ground shook all around him, the walls, the small rocks as they fell from the ceiling. He just thought it was his imagination, the now crumbled wall that had broken that was tightly bound to his fragments of sanity. His once knight-like arms were now grasping his legs, as he sat in a position resembling that of a fetus. He felt as the tears began to roll down his face, but didn't even bother to wipe them away. His sniffles were nothing compared to the silence, simply a grain of sand in a pool full of water.

Suddenly, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder, ripping the young boy out of his thoughts. His mouth opened in a silent scream, the noise bearing an eerie resemblance to the screeches of the bats, except thousands upon thousands of times quieter. His crystal eyes bore right into the eyes of the person, or rather being that had its head poked through the hole. Their empty, black eyes seemed to glow with a magic that could only be described as... demonic. Thick, red lines ran underneath his half-moon eyes, and there was no way for the child to determine if it was a statement for the demon, or rather the blood of its slain enemies. It was pale, deathly deathly pale, the shade of the moon on its brightest nights. Hair that cut in an even line across his face prevented Link from seeing the other half, but he concluded that it would be eerily similar to the features on the right half of its face. Its lips, cracked and broken, were the exact same color as its hair, and it sent chills running down the protruding spine of the young boy. A massive red gem, one bearing resemblance to a rupee, except nearly the size of Link's head, sat wrapped around a golden cloth that ran around the thin waist of the creature.

"No scream, child? It's expected, but my enemies always scream at the sight of me." the being said, its reptilian tongue sliding out of its white-lipped mouth. Link shrunk back, not wanting to let the extraordinary macabre thing to touch him, especially with his tongue. The hand that laid on Link's shoulder strengthened its grip, making the silent child grimace out of pain. A smile crept across the face of the demon, its fangs - sharper than those that rested in the mouths of the bats - glinted in the ominous light cast out from its black eyes. "Do you know how much power I hold in my hand, boy? I could snap your shoulder from your body without even a whim of hesitation. You're in the center of my domain: fear. You fear the darkness, and ironically, you will die inside of it, no matter how you plead to your silly goddess above. I am everywhere, my child, as I didn't hesitate to say before. I will break you before you can even think about opening your mouth for an attempted scream, that silly little thing that you think someone will hear."

Link squirmed beneath the grasp of the demon, shakily moving his hand up towards the demons own. He smacked it away, only to find the touch of the thing almost poisonous to him. Its skin felt like blades, stabbing up into the thin palm of the silent child. He felt the blood vessels in his hand burst as the thick, syrupy crimson begin to drip out of his hand. His teeth clenched, so hard that he thought that they would break from the pressure. The empty and emotionless laugh from before emitted from the mouth of the demon, except this time, it was all directed into the pointed ears of the child. His head was swarming with noise, paranoia, dread, and a million other things that he could never place correctly. His breathing grew shorter and shorter, reaching the point where he felt like he was hyperventilating.

"Did you fail to believe in my words, silent boy? Did you not know I always keep my promises? Do you know what I want to do to you, child? I want you to scream. I want your muteness to dissipate as soon as you see me, and with every glimpse of my face you get in your mind, you will wail so loudly that your ears will be deafened by your own screams. There will be no satisfaction in my life until that day will happen, and the second it does, I will not hesitate to end your disgusting, human life, right then and there." the demon spat, drops of saliva flying onto the face of the terrified boy. He mock-screamed as the liquid touched his skin, feeling the drops of acid-like material melt into his face. The demon removed his hand from the trembling shoulder of the boy, smirking at him as he attempted his scream of pain. He brought it forwards and smacked the young blonde square across the face, his hands still cutting into his skin like knives. Scratches formed on the surface of his face, sending more blood dripping down onto the floor of the cave.

"Lucky for you, insignificant mortal, that day isn't today."

The demon cackled again, the mere sound of it making Link bring his hands up to his ears, attempting to drown out the horrible noise that drilled into his ears. A sharp noise was heard, and Link could only stare in an odd combination of both horror and amazement as the man disappeared into a cloud of gold and red diamond-like shapes that hung in the air.

Sobs racked Link's body, causing noises that he had never made in his lifetime to be brought to his attention. It had taken every ounce of will in his body not to cry like this in front of that demon who had just confronted him. He didn't even care if he had to walk through all of this darkness, even surrounded by the bats who had tried to kill him earlier. He just wanted out, away from this area where the demon had just been. He feared to close his eyes, just because of the simple threat that it had given him a mere minute ago. He could still see his empty, black-lit eyes glowing in the back of his brain, permanently imprinted there for the rest of time. The mere thought of them being there sent shudders rampaging through his weakened body. He felt a churning sensation in his stomach, mixed with the fire that had previously been there when he had first entered the passageway. He sat himself on his hands and knees and vomited, the foul bile quickly coming mixed with his tears and blood from his cheek. He shakily lowered himself back down, still sobbing as his head rested next to the exit of the passageway. His shaky breaths broke with the sounds of his cries. He felt weaker than he ever had, completely empty and devoid of any energy that he may or may not of had. All he wanted to do was drift off into the fear-prone confines of his mind, to slip off into the nightmares that his mind would replay for years to come. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had slept without one. They came to his thoughts every single time he laid his head down on the ripped up curtain in his shed-like house.

His eyes fluttered, daring to close against the will of his own mind. His mind screamed at the actions his body was forcing against him, wanting to claw away from the desperate attempt to refuel the emptiness that was the body of the silent child.

He could no longer feel anything in his battered cheek, on his ripped and beaten hand. He let his eyes close, only staring at the hollow eyes of the demon who had traumatized him. They refused to open, making his mind replay the maniacal laughs that the demon had cackled every time his threats were made and replied to. He could still feel the indentation left by the powerful hand of the evil creature. He could feel the small breaks in the bone that the thing had achieved by adding enough pressure to it to break a simple clump of dirt. He felt the erratic fear of the dark begin to diminish, and was only replaced by the heart of darkness that belonged the demon who had tortured a four year old to his breaking point.

He listened to the sound of his heart, beating so slowly that he thought that he was dying. Dying in the confines of the darkness, in the confines of his purest nightmares, just like the demon had said. Everything he had said was unraveling in the faces of truth before his very eyes. All he wanted to do was sleep. Close his eyes and only open them once they reached the light again...

Someone please, anyone, find me in this cave. Hylia above, there is no way out for me, but please, I don't care if you ever listen to my prayers again in my lifetime, just please come and save me from this prison.

The boy felt his thoughts fade away and his vision cease, not in the way that closing your eyes would do. The purest of blacks filled his crystalline eyes, and refused to leave them.

Something had overcome his fear. And the only thing that ever would conquer it was weakness.

* * *

Zelda grasped tightly onto the hand of her father, fearful of whatever mysteries his within the dark and shadowy confines of the forbidden caves. She had been optimistic of entering at first, wanting to find her "friend" and get him out of the dark place as soon as possible. 'It's just like the rain, there's nothing to fear. Eyes forwards and keep focused.' was now her mantra, the saying that she kept repeating endlessly in her head. It would remain this way until they left, and she knew that they weren't leaving until they found the boy that could never speak.

Her father squeezed her hand before releasing it slowly, causing the timid girl to run over to his leg and hid behind it. She gripped it tightly, afraid a creature that she couldn't see would grab her from behind and take her away, sealing her to the same fate that Link could possibly be in right now. He cleared his throat loudly, drawing the attention of all the knights traveling with him towards his body. "Stay close, two to a set of people. Wryna, you will remain with me and my daughter. The rest of you, split into two groups and travel along. Keep alert and have your torches lit at all time, I do not want anyone getting separated or lost while we are in here." he commanded, using his hands to motion all that he said whenever he spoke. He held some sort of unmentioned authority over all of the people here, even if they had graduated and technically moved on from his teachings. All of those who had graduated from him still spoke with him often, and would usually meet with him in the small restaurant in the middle of the Bazaar. He enjoyed these meetings with his past students, talking to both those who were in knighthood, as well as those who had moved on to their ordinary lives. People typically left knighthood when they were twenty-five, since people would rather get on with their ordinary lives than serve out the class of knighthood for the entirety of it. After all, it would usually lead to a servitude of about seven years, which was typically repopulated with all of the children that wanted to grow into the social class everyone respected.

Zelda peered out from behind her fathers leg, and watched as the groups of two wandered off into the depths of the murky cave. She stared at the blue-clad figure that remained, Wryna. She smiled at Zelda again, giving her a timid wave. Zelda returned this to her, taking a step out from behind the thick leg of her father. Bright torched gripped tightly in her hand, Wryna flipped around, her long blue hat turning along with the fluid motion of her body. Gaepora lightly tapped the back of his daughter, alerting her to begin her journey into the cave. Her gaze drifted up towards her father, smiling softly at him as she began to journey farther and farther down.

"Headmaster! There's a drop ahead!" one of the knights called out, his voice carrying all the way throughout the twists and turns that lead to his location. Gaepora called back, letting the knight know that he had heard what he had forewarned. He also called to them to remain where they stood until he reached them, wanting to make sure there were plenty of people able to provide a sufficient amount of light to jump down the drop.

The group of three hurried to the rest of the knights, staring into the flickering flames that billowed from their torches. They all nodded at Gaepora as he appeared into their line of sight, before some of time shining light down over the drop. One of them, a large man whose frame was almost equal to the height of her fathers. He wore yellow uniform that was at least three sizes too small. The cap clung to his head, making it look as it it were about to burst. The clothes looked like they were going to do that to whatever exposed body parts that he had. His darker skin made the yellow that tightly clung to his skin looks even brighter than they were. He hopped down as if it were nothing; his head still peeked over the drop that he had just jumped down to.

"It's safe!" he called loudly, the same voice that had alerted the rest of the group of the presence of the drop. The rest of the knights jumped down, including Gaepora himself. Zelda remained, twisting around shyly as she saw everyone jump down so simplistically. She didn't want to jump, she had discovered a certain fear of heights a couple of weeks ago when traveling around town with her father. She had sat on his shoulders as they strolled around the town, talking to whoever came up to him. From her positioning, she could see the cloud barrier clearly, and her vision instantly became distorted from where she sat. She had begun to shake on her fathers shoulders, and she had screamed at him to put her back down on the ground. Her father had told her she had a panic attack. She stayed in her room, underneath the safeness of the quilt made by her mother for the remainder of that day. The feeling of the lack of control was still haunting to her.

"D-daddy, I'm s-scared." she whimpered, her voice cracking at the terror that laid within her voice. She took a step backwards, away from the edge of the drop that housed all of the knights and her father.

"Don't worry, Zelda. I'll catch you, okay?" Gaepora confirmed, trying to comfort his terrified daughter. His hands were extended out towards her petite frame. But she shook her head, taking another step backward towards the exit. "I just need you to trust me. I won't drop you."

Zelda remained in her place and blinked repeatedly at the ominous figure of her father. She nodded her head lightly, taking small steps forwards until she reached the edge. She closed her eyes, feeling as her small body began to tremble out of fear. She took a step forwards into the emptiness of air, feeling gravity propel herself down into the waiting arms of her father.

She opened her eyes dramatically, and looked up into the raven colored ones of her father. He smiled down at her, leaning all of Zelda's weight to one of his arms, while he used the other to ruffle her blonde hair. "I told you that I wouldn't drop you." he said, the small grin that sat on his face turning into a smile that showed his teeth and the crinkles around his eyes. He kneeled down before setting his daughter back onto the rocky surface of the cave, not wanting to drop her from too far of a distance that it would cause another of her attacks.

The group all nodded once more before carrying along through the cave in silence. Wryna held her torch up towards the lighter shade of black in the cave, revealing a massive hole that showed a section of the raging waterfall. She felt as some of the bursts of water trickled down onto her face, making a smile creep all the way up through her face. She began to skip, slowly, through the cave, keeping in time with the rest of the group she was traveling with. They all smiled as they watched the daughter of the headmaster, the young girl not afraid to show the innocence and purity that remained with her, even in a place like the forbidden cave. It was a different sight in a place so harsh and unforgiving, like a ray of light in the darkness that was the cave in which they wandered.

And then they all heard the laughter.

It pounded in all of their ears, making them drop their torches to the ground out of fright. Zelda screamed softly, turning around towards her father as she wrapped her thin arms around Gaebora's leg once more. There was another noise, one that sounded eerily similar to that of a sword being sheathed. Then the laughter disappeared, only to be followed by the sound of a child sobbing. Zelda's heart began racing, and she felt her body begin to tremble. She took in a deep breath, remembering what she had told herself when she had first entered this haunted place.

The screeching of bats quickly followed the sound of sobbing. Yellow eyes opened wide in front of them, glowing menacingly in the darkest corner of the cave. They began to grow closer to them, flying at such a speed to simply escape whatever had been laughing, and whatever had sheathed the sword to hurt the sobbing child. Zelda cowered as the bats flew over her head, though she was the shortest out of the group of seven people. The other knights showed no blatant fear in their faces, having been trained to not express anything in the sight of children or authority. They bent down, grabbing their dropped torches, and held them up high to drive the bats away from the light that it shone. They all screeched in unison, increasing their height so they practically scraped the top of the cave. And before any of them knew it, they were the only remaining things left in the cave.

Besides the sobbing child.

The sound of their tears were clear as daylight now, as ironic as that seemed. Gaepora's eyes widened at the fact that Link had been the ONLY person to come into the cave lateley; they had seen Groose go back to the Academy. Unless another child managed to child across the pedestals, and make it through this cave without any second thought, the sobs that echoed loudly through the ears of Gaepora could only belong to the silent child he was trying to find.

Zelda realised this as well, the realization hitting her like a ton of bricks. She smacked her fathers leg softly, causing his once-occupied attention to go to his daughter. "That's Link, daddy! We have to help him!" she exclaimed, tugging harshly at him to try to get him to go towards the sobs of Link. Gaepora stayed where he was, refusing to give even the slightest budge to the force of movement. Zelda looked up at him at his refusal, the soft light of the burning flames casting orange shadows on her rounded face. Her eyes gleamed, their once blue-hue now looking like a lighter shade of his own. Almost like...

"C'mon, daddy!" she begged, warping the man out of his miniscule moment of thought. He looked down at his daughter and shook his head, not daring to say anything. He knew there was an exit extremely close to where they stood. The chances of a boy as intelligent as Link not going towards that was rare, and he was willing to bet that the cries of someone, or possibly something, could all be a trick by the person that had laughed that empty, evil laughter.

He took his eyes off of his daughter, looking over at the rest of the his search group. "Proceed with caution. The boy we're searching for is extraordinarily smart, and not likely to remain inside when the exit is so close. If you find the location of the 'crying child', alert the rest of us and do not do anything. Do you understand?" he said, pacing back and forth in front of them. A chorus of agreement echoed through the cave, momentarily masking the cries that grew softer with each passing second. The knights then started walking, going at a pace that was significantly faster than before. Gaepora, once again, tapped his daughter on the back in order to alert her they were going again. She placed her softly-trembling hand in his, unconsciously letting her father know that she was afraid of what laid ahead.

The walk seemed long, but it wasn't that much time until the sight of the outside world was cast in from a hole. Zelda could tell that the cloud that was passing overhead was at the end of it's long journey; there was a steadily increasing amount of light casting inside of the cave. The once black walls began to reflect the small slivers of light that were now shining inside of the once eerie place. The emptiness, restricted to only the soft illumination of the orange fire, now showed all of the different corners that the darkness was hiding.

Zelda let go of her fathers hand walking forwards into the dimly-lit area that now held some sort of light, other than the ones cast by their torches. She looked around at the walls, taking in the untainted beauty that they held. They glowed silver, similar to the iridescent light that the moon would shine down onto Skyloft when nighttime approached. She was so fascinated by this that she didn't even notice the large platform in front of her, and she immediately fell down, the letter than was gripped in her hand flying into a patch of wild grass that was in front of her.

"Ow," she said, turning her head to the side as she opened her eyes. They fell upon an opening in the wall, dimly lit, but still gave in enough light to see she shape of a head. The slightest glimpse of hair, one that matched the color of the desk in her father's office. One that matched...

"Daddy! I found Link!" she screamed, turning her body around to look back at her father. He scrambled over to her, along with the rest of the knights. Her father lightly moved her aside, peeking his head into the small hole.

With all of the noise and commotion coming from outside, Link's eyes fluttered opened weakley, his crystal blue irises - ones that were the exact color of his daughters own - stared into his. He looked exhausted and beaten, haunted to no end. For a child able to write just as well, or possibly even better than he could, not leaving a cave when the exit was so close within reach was a move that he hadn't expected.

The boy's eyes closed again as his head turned closer to the headmaster of the Academy. He could see clear scratches on the side of his face, not extremely deep, but there were plenty of them to look painful. His entire face was read, and he could see the remains of tear trails running all the way down his hollow face.

"Get him out!" Gaepora exclaimed, realising that the boy was obviously hurt inside of the confines of the knights scrambled over to him, gently placing their hands on the boys shoulder in a feeble attempt to get him out of the passageway. His once-tired eyes shot open, fear shining across the entirety of it, as well as his face. They could feel as his body began to move up and down quickly, breathing heavily out of pure fear. They quickly pulled him out of the tunnel, wanting to get the completely terrified boy out of the place he was stuck in.

As soon as he was able to scramble out of their grip, the boy did. He limp-ran over to the other side of the wall, shaking the entire time he did. Gaepora held a hand out in front of the group, silently telling them not to go anywhere near the silent child. His eyes darted back and forth between all of them, his eyes eventually falling on the small blonde figure that stood behind the legs of Gaepora. A soft smile cast across her lips. The girl bent over, grabbing something off of the ground. Then, without even showing any hesitation at all, she darted out from behind the group, hopping off the small platform. She tiptoed over to Link, being as quiet as she could.

"T-this is for you, L-Link." she whispered, extending out her arm. The letter, now covered in dirt, trembled in her hand. The other boy reached out his as well, revealing more scratches that covered his damaged palm. He softly grabbed the letter, pulling it closer to him as he opened it slowly and intricately. His eyes darted across the parchment, carefully reading each one of the carefully written words. Zelda lowered herself and sat down on the ground, watching the boy in front of her. His eyes drifted up to her own, crystal meeting crystal once again. She watched as they began to water uncontrollably, and it didn't look like he was able to control it. She felt her eyes begin to do the same, and there was nothing that she was able to do to stop it.

The two young children, caught up in their fears, sat up and hugged the other simultaneously. They sat down again and sobbed, crying into each other's shoulders. And the two young children, who had only known each other for the entirety of one day, sat and wept with each other in the ever-growing light of the cave.

* * *

**Fast chapter, whoah! I literally typed all of this in the span of about 20 hours. I give myself a three day wait between updates, and then I start typing. I love it when things update fast, but I just like some room in between chapters. This probably won't happen that often, but since I'm on spring break, I was like 'Hey, why now?" **

**I have to say, you guys are like insane. We now have over 900 views for this story! Thanks to anyone that has read this story, whether you followed it from the beginning, or just started reading it today or something. I cannot do any of this without your guys's support, and it really means a lot to me!**

**But yes, Zelda and Link _finally _meet again, after a technical 4 chapter separation (I'm not counting the five seconds they saw each other in the kitchen indecent). That chapter had a lot of angst, but was surprisingly fun to write. Oops. **

**And what do you know, Ghirahim decided to make an appearance. I wanted him to have some sort of play in this, so I said "Hey, why not have him appear when Link's stuck in a cave?!" And thus, that wonderful idea was born. **

**Now for the important stuff!**

**Good news everyone, I have a system planned out for the entirety of this story! The story will take place in three different phases/sections: Link/Zelda in Primary (about age 4-5), Link/Zelda in Intermediate (about age 10-11), and Link/Zelda in the Academy (about age 15-16). Each section/phase will be approximately 15-30 chapters long, so yes, prepare yourselves for a wild ride! I already know how I am going to end this story. It will _not _go into the actual game section of Skyward Sword, since the entirety of this is simply a prequel. I am simply putting this out here for everyone following to know the length of this. I don't know about a sequel, since I am literally only 5 chapters in to a story that will be at least 45-90 chapters long. I will discuss more as time goes on, but right now, at this point in my life, I honestly do not know. **

**But yeah, kind of a long AN. I just wanted to put that out there for all of you guys. But thank you for reading this chapter! Reviewing will only lead to me writing faster *hint hint***

**See you in the next chapter!**

**-PossiblyAGinger**


	6. A Fear Conquered

**Hey guys! This chapter is a lot shorter than the usual ones, but I would rather get one out to all of you guys than keep trying to write (this chapter was REALLY difficult to write, ****by the way) and have you all wait for like another two weeks. Also, another note, if there is a 'we're' that would be in the place of a 'we're' that is not on purpose. My computer is glitching out weirdly and keeps changing it to that. **

**I am a person: Thanks for the review! What do you know, I managed to write something after this! Hope you like it!**

**As I literally just said in that review answer, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! **

* * *

The journey to the outside world was seemingly far easier than the one they made to get inside, but the feeling of dread still sat in the pit of the young girls stomach. There was something that lingered in the air, whether it be the odd silence, or the emptiness that just seemed to hang in front of her face. She turned around often, casting her eyes on the limp figure of Link that sat in her fathers arms. Gaepora had refused to let the boy take another step as soon as he and Zelda had cried together. He had passed out from sheer exhaustion and panic. She watched as his arm would spasm and inch closer and closer to his face, only to see him wince at the pain that it would cause him. The sleeve of his white shirt was ripped, the edges doused in a mixture of blood and muddy water. Scratches ran up and down his pale face, and overall, the boy she had seen only a few cloud lengths ago looked broken. Her fathers face lifted up to meet hers, eyebrows crinkled down over his dark brown eyes. He gave his daughter the weakest smile he could manage, attempting to give her the feeling that everything was alright; nothing was actually wrong with the circumstance that they were. But no matter how hard he prayed to Hylia, no matter how much he wished that each second he spent in this Desmisement was just a nightmare that was passing in his head, he realized that the grim reality he was thrown into was the start of something monumental.

After what had seemed like hours upon hours in an easy journey, the soft white light of the outside world met the eyes of the group. Gaepora felt the boy in his arms stir, and looked down as he saw himself slowly flip himself so his head was facing Gaepora's stomach. He felt the boy shiver, and there was nothing definitive in his mind that told him if it was out of fear, or out of him freezing. He gripped the sleeping boy closer to his chest in an attempt to comfort him, deciding that this action would benefit him no matter the circumstance of his shaking. A small noise bubbled in the throat of the boy, the noise similar to that off a cough. He hadn't expected any real noise to come out of the boy, maybe laughter at the least. Everything about this child was a mystery, from his origin to his mannerisms.

He paid no attention to his surroundings, and the headmaster quickly became lost in his own thoughts. What could have possibly happened to the boy. He was injured recently enough that the scratches on his face weren't dried, and yet they had heard almost nothing inside of that cave. He had heard the sound of a sheathing sword, but the marks that ran across the boys face were far too thin to match the broad edges of a weapon that size.

Suddenly, he felt himself run into something in front of him. He struggled to hold onto the boy that rested in his arms, feeling Link release from them for a fraction of a second. He cast his eyes down and met the blue eyes of his daughter, the deep pools covered in concern and worry.

"Is he going to be okay, daddy?" she asked him, rising up to the tips of her toes in order to get a better look at Link. Gaepora carefully raised his hand closest to her, making sure not to disturb the silent child in any sort of way. Zelda lowered herself back down, her feet touching the coolness of the stone that sent shivers running up her spine.

"I honestly do not know, Zelda. It's hard to tell at this point." he said, trying to put it in the simplest terms for her. He really did have no clue; saying that wasn't just a way to distract his child from some grave truth.

Zelda nodded, her eyes drifting back up to look at the fast-approaching hill. She craved to spring out there, fling herself down onto the green grass and watch the stars that twinkled in the night sky. And yet, there was this rope that kept her close to her father - no - close to Link, that wouldn't release it's grip no matter how hard she fought against it. She let a sigh escape her lips, the simplistic noise echoing throughout the entrance of the brightening cave. She felt the hard ground underneath her feet transform into the softness of the grass she preferred, digging her toes down into the frail layer of dirt that sat on the surface. A smile played at the corners of her mouth, creeping their way up towards the corners of her playful eyes.

Gaepora smiled to himself as he watched his daughters stress visibly leave her body; the playful edge she constantly had returning. Even from behind her, he could sense the smile that sat happily on her face. He too was glad to be out of the confines of the cave, and back in the world that he had a fraction of control over.

He felt another stirring form the boy that sat in his arms. Gaepora's head quickly snapped down, eyes staring intently at Link. He saw his eyelids flutter, eyes opening once again. The blueness that was once a mirror image of his daughters was gone, replaced by an empty color that clouded over his irises. He saw as the boy meekly raised his arm, a finger lazily pointing down towards the ground. Gaepora nodded, a feeling of uncertainty fluttering in his chest. He carefully positioned the boy so he was in a position that looked similar to him standing and lowered him down to the grassy hill. The boy took a step forwards, knees wobbling underneath his nearly nonexistent weight. He crumpled down onto his knees, arms braced in front of himself as if he were some sort of animal. His breathing was heavy and ragged, the sharp intakes of his breaths filling up the silence that hung in the air. Gaepora took a step forwards, arm extended to help up the young child.

Only to find his daughter already there, placing Link's arm around her shoulder.

They stood up in unison, the mute boy looking far too fragile in comparison to Zelda. He stood nearly half-a-foot shorter than she did, and was probably half the size. The young girl let out a grunt as all of the boy's weight fell onto her side, but she simply stood straight once more and accepted it. He watched as her head tilted to the side, whispering something into one of Link's pointed ears. The head of clay colored hair bobbed softly, and the two began to walk in synchronization, not even paying an ounce of attention to anyone around them.

The group of knights stood in their tracks, watching as the two young children, who hadn't met more than two phases ago, act as if they had known each other for their entire life. Gaepora watched as Link would stagger and fall, stopping to place his hands on his knees and catch his breath. Something sparked in his mind, a sort of thought that made sense, even in the weirdest way. The way that Link was acting was out of pride for himself; not wanting to make himself look "bad" in front of Zelda. He thought it had been odd that he had only woken up after Zelda had spoken, even though there had been a constant sense of shifting when they were inside of the cave. This boy, too caught up in his own self-pride to even let a man carry him when he was injured, was adding more and more layers onto his complexity.

The thoughts that were running through his mind brought him back into the faces of reality. He gave a sharp whistle that alerted the knights that stood nearby, their heads whipping around from the sound. He pointed in the direction of the two, signaling for them to start on their journey back towards the Academy.

Zelda looked over at Link, her eyes scanning the scratches that ran up and down his pale face. Small beads of sweat ran down his forehead, streaming into the cuts. Link flinched at the feeling, clenching his teeth together forcefully in a feeble attempt to alleviate the pain that he was experiencing. There wasn't any chance of him letting Gaepora carry him back to the Academy; he was already up, and he wasn't going to make the man he respected so much carry his dead weight. He turned his head towards the waterfall as he stretched his body to step onto the large stone in front of him. The muscles ached from overuse, and a clear lack of rest and lack of eating. He turned his head back, letting his eyes scan over the dimly lit village. He could see the outline of the sun beginning to rise from beneath Skyloft, the rays of the orange light reaching up to the very top of the sky. He gave a small smile, the weight of his fear lifting off of his shoulders. The darkness of both the cave, as well as the world itself, was gone once yet again. But he only knew it would return in time. It was the problem with being afraid of something like this.

Zelda let out a small gasp as Link suddenly removed himself from her grasp, easily walking over the stone pedestals. She extended her foot, her largest toe flattening as it hit the smooth rock. The feeling of the thing sent her mind spiraling straight back into the cave; the emptiness that constantly ran throughout her head. She drew her foot back, letting the soft grass replace the feeling of hard earth. She glanced up, looking at Link, who was already waiting on the other side of the river. He was staring back at her, eyes pleading for her to hurry across as quickly as she could. A wave of uncertainty ran through her, afraid of what would happen if she slipped and fell. All of the knights were back with her father; they wouldn't be able to help her if she did exactly what she feared. Her eyes cast over the edge, looking down into the glowing clouds, illuminated by the orange light from the sun. She felt her stomach plummet. She knew she was afraid of heights. It was something odd enough for someone that had spent every waking moment of their life dangling on a piece of rock that was floating in the middle of the sky. She looked back up at Link, the undeniable look of pleading fear written across her face. She saw as his eyes widened, looking oddly similar to her own. She watched as his face changed, melding into a look of something that mirrored protection. He held his arm out towards her. It was something she had seen before. Her father, when he had told her to stop. To wait. His palm was down, however, like he was reaching to help her out. She closed her eyes and lowered herself down to the grassy earth.

She then heard footsteps. The sound was light enough that it was barely distinguishable, but she still knew someone was there. She jumped slightly when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Her eyes met Link's, his hand extended towards her own. She placed it in his own. His fingers we're long and nimble, the bones more prominent than anything else. He helped her stand up, rising so she stood taller than he. He turned and pointed over at the pedestal. He tapped her hand three times. He released her hand, and then leapt over to the pedestal as if it were nothing. He jumped back over to her, nodding his head, as if he was asking if she understood.

She opened her mouth to speak, feeling the small vibrations of her voice that wanted to jump out. The words caught in her throat, blocked out by nothing other than her own fear. She felt weak and powerless against something so simplistically unavoidable. She didn't understand how Link could stand to cope with the the unbearable feeling of silence. "You w-want me t-to jump, o-on three?" her voice was shaking, just like she was. Link stepped towards her and grabbed her hand, placing pressure on the palm of her hand, like he knew that she was shaking. The shaking settled some, but the slight tremors that ran through the rest of her body were unavoidable. Their eyes met once again, for what seemed like an action they had only repeated infinite times that day. And he nodded at her, twisting his hand to their finger interlocked with each other. He turned, standing right next to each other, and they both stared at the village that seemed so far away. He reached out his finger and tapped her hand, once, twice, and then for the third time. And they jumped, together, in synchronization.

The feeling of weightlessness filled up inside of her as they lept across the river. The jump was miniscule, maybe half the length of her, but the feeling that was inside of her was only one that could be described as flying. A quiet yell escaped her mouth, causing her to slap her hand over her mouth as it escaped. And then her feet met the stone of the pedestal in front of them. They had made it. She made the jump.

She looked over to Link; his face had exhaustion written all over it. She smiled at him anyways, eyes lighting up out of the sheer feeling of flying. Maybe this was what it was like to fly on a Loftwing. It made her want to receive that dream from the goddess herself. This time, she began to tap on Link's finger, tapping in the same time that he had. And they jumped once again, landing on the pedestal just as they had the last time.

She laughed loudly, the sound echoing all throughout the empty village. She looked over at Link again; the boy had a stupid grin stretching across his face. She unlaced her fingers from his own, leaping and bounding across the rocks and landing on the golden sand of the pool that sat on the other side. She threw her hands up into the air and twirled around, dancing and kicking sand up into the air. She could hear the knights, who were now making their way down towards the stone, after what seemed like hours, cheering and clapping for her. Smile still stretching across her face, she looked at her father, who was shaking his head and smiling as well. This boy had helped her conquer her fear, in the smallest sense, something he hadn't been able to do himself.

Zelda heard the sound of someone landing in the sand, and flipped around to see Link, head lowered and facing the ground His eyes were threatening to shut. He took a step forwards, and then another, walking over towards Zelda. He stopped, wobbling around where he stood. Her eyes widened, and she ran over towards him, catching him as he fell down onto his knees. He had used whatever energy he had helping her across the pool.

"You're going to be okay, right Link?" she whispered into his pointed ear. She could feel as his head moved up and down, barely. She could feel as he slacked in her grasp, passing out once again from exhaustion.

"Daddy!" she screeched, watching as his large form stumbled across the pedestals, not even needing to jump in the slightest.

"I hope you're okay, Link." she whispered once again, fully knowing that she wouldn't get a response.

Even if he could speak.

* * *

It was dark again.

Link's eyes shot wide at the lack of light. This was something that seemed more ominous than the darkness that rested in the depths of the cave. The absence of light let him see nothing, not even himself. He reached his arm out, hitting something hard to the right of him. He winced in pain, feeling the jagged pieces of rock hit against his palm. The sticky feeling of blood running down his palm returned for what seemed like the millionth time that day. He brought it close to his chest, cradling his bleeding hand.

A burst of light suddenly filled his eyes, making him fall back from the sheer strength of it. He shielded his eyes with his other hand, trying to let himself see whatever was in front of him. He managed to pull himself back to a sitting position, and his eyes fell on the outline of a person.

Zelda.

Her hair was shorter, yes, and she seemed paler, but it was indistinguishably Zelda. Link pushed himself up, still cradling his bleeding hand against his chest. He walked over to her, his footsteps echoing throughout the small space he was in. He hadn't really given it much attention until now; the room was barely twice the size of the shed he used to get down to his "house". It seemed to be shrinking as he inched closer and closer to Zelda, to the point where he felt like he was in that tunnel once again. He extended his other hand towards her shoulder, relieved that someone he knew was here.

"Wrong, you fool."

The voice was like nails on a chalkboard, pounding through his ears and through his mind. It was the voice of the demon who had been in the cave, the one who had hurt him in the first place. Link drew his hand back, watching in horror the figure he once thought was his friend shifted into the thing of his worst nightmares. The being turned it's head towards Link, flipping around so it was facing him. Dead, empty eyes glared into Link's own, sending shivers running down his spine once again. Link backed up, only to run into the jagged rocks that spat out from the wall. It was much closer than it was before; he was convinced it was moving. He heard the noise of a sheathing sword once more, and watched the blood-red diamonds that snaked up from the spot where the demon once stood. His eyes darted back and forth, trying to find where the being could have possibly gone in this shrinking room.

Suddenly, he heard the noise again, and found the demon standing right in front of him. It opened its mouth and screamed right into Link's face, and then the lights died off once again.

Link collapsed, but instead of hitting the ground, he found himself freefalling. He turned himself over, and watched as a grassy platform grow closer and closer to him. His head darted up, and as he moved the hair out of his face, his eyes fell upon the dimly-lit Skyloft. This was just as he feared, being like the knight who had fallen one knight while on patrol. He flailed around in the air, trying desperately to propel himself upwards and away from the platform that was ominously calling for him.

"Why won't you scream, silent child?" the voice of the demon teased. Link looked down and saw its figure floating underneath his own. It let out a laugh, growing louder as the platform grew closer to him. The sound of the sheathing sword returned again, and the crimson diamonds spiked up into his face.

The platform was growing closer. There was no way he could shift his body weight in such a way he would avoid his impending death, and even if he could, he would just doom himself to fall down to the Surface world. The laughing of the demon grew louder and louder in his head. He closed his eyes, feeling the presence of the platform grow closer and closer to his body.

He waited for his death, the very death he feared would happen to him in the first place.

* * *

Zelda sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the vines of the plants that grew around Professor Owlan's room. He was seen as the healer for this town, due to his extensive knowledge of plant life. There wasn't anything he could really do for Link, however, other than let him rest and actually put something into his malnourished body. Yes, he was able to bandage his shoulder, as well as his face, but that was the only thing that he could really do. She looked over at his still form. He faced straight up, not turned, almost looking... dead. Concern grew in her stomach, fearful that Link (was) actually dead. She feared that maybe he had pushed himself too hard, trying to help her across the river that she feared so much.

She tilted her head to the side as his face began to shift, melding into a look of disgust. His breathing grew louder, and a soft noise in his throat began to echo around the room.

"Owlan," she said worriedly, propelling herself off of the bed. The professor was sleeping on his desk, a small puddle of drool collecting on a sheet of paper that he was rested on. Zelda grabbed his arm and shook it furiously in a desperate attempt to wake him. The professor shot up, startled by the sudden movement. He wiped his mouth with his white sleeve, and then looked down at the young girl. He raised his arms up into the air and stretched, letting out a low groan of exhaustion. He had been woken up not more than five cloud-lengths ago; it was the dead of morning, and the sun had yet to pierce its rays through his window. He had been surprised that Gaepora had found the boy, the one who possessed an intelligence that was far greater than any child he had ever seen. When he had seen his limp form, however , and thought he was dead, he feared for the worst. There wasn't anything actually wrong with him, other than the fact that he looked like a living skeleton.

There was a gasp, and then the form of the boy suddenly shot up. Zelda let out a small scream, and Owlan was struggling to hold one in. He was breathing extremely loudly, clearly struggling to contain his growing panic. He turned towards the young girl, who was fearfully looking up at the older man.

"Get your father, Zelda." he ordered, standing up and walking over towards the now shaking form of Link. Owlan lowered himself down so his eyes were level with the boys own. He heard the door creak open, quickly followed by Zelda's light footsteps. He turned back towards Link as a knocking noise filled his ears. The young boys eyes were darting around the room, trying to look at every single thing that was inside. Owlan was startled to see how astonishingly similar Link's eyes were to Zelda's; they had caught him off guard for a slight second.

"Calm down, child. You're in the Academy, like you were earlier. The Headmaster will be here in a short time." he stated, placing his large hand on the boy's frail shoulder. The boy looked down at his hand, like he was wanting to remove it with his mind. Owlan could tell that the boy was still in a state of unease. He didn't really deal with children that much; most of the injured people in Skyloft were the adults or the knights. He leaned over towards the boy and cupped his hand to his ear, speaking soft enough so no one else but him could actually hear. "And your lady friend."He pulled himself back and smirked at the boy's facial expression, winking know-fully at his liking for the girl. The fact that the young girl refused to leave his side, even if it meant having to sit in a space about the size of her, was enough to really know a lot about these two.

Owlan looked up as the door creaked again, seeing the large form of the Headmaster, and his daughter that stood in front of him. "Is he awake?" he asked, looking around the plant-filled room. Owlan nodded, motioning towards the boy.

Zelda smiled at Link and climbed back onto the bed, sitting in the same spot that she had for the hour that he was still passed out. Link peered over to her for a small second, a small smirk growing across his face. He then looked up at Gaepora, who had closed the door and was now leaning against the empty spot on the wall. He looked at the young boy curiously, eyes running up and down his miniscule figure.

"Owlan, do me a favor and ask Henya to prepare food. Don't let anyone know that Link is here." Gaepora ordered, pushing himself off of the wall. Owlan nodded and left, closing the door softly behind him.

The rays of the sun peeked through the window, streaming onto Link's face. He blinked rapidly and covered his eyes with his hand. He hissed as his shoulder seared with pain. He brought his hand over towards it, feeling the puffy bandages that wrapped around it. He brought his hand up towards his face, letting his fingers run softly down it. The ones on his face were rough. He felt broken, even though he hadn't specifically done anything. He was weaker than he had ever been before of his life; not eating for a week wasn't the smartest idea, now that he put it in perspective.

He really didn't want to let go everything this far. Why had he gone out in the first place yesterday?

* * *

**Just fyi: Demisement in the beginning essentially meant 'hell'. Had to incorporate some Skyward Sword-ish thing into this.**

**Link never really gets a break, does he? Oh well, it makes for some great writing.**

**Did you guys pick up on the parallel I put in there? **

**I'm planning about another couple chapters in this specific arc of the Primary phase. Reading about the first three days or so that a couple people have met can probably get boring, and I'm sorry if things are going too slow for you guys. It's gonna start speeding up after the next while, so don't worry yourself!**

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! **

**-PossiblyAGinger **


	7. Ink-stains

**Oh, hey guys...**

**Sorry for not updating for like 2 months! There was a lot of testing in May for me, and then I had nationals in June, and those both ended up getting a majority of my time. And I had a serious case of writers block. Seriously. I wrote and re-wrote this chapter so many times it was sickening. **

**Anyway, I guess I could make it up with a longer chapter maybe? I don't know if it helps at this point but, hey, at least I'm still updating.**

**I'm going to give a warning here: _there will be mentions of abuse in this chapter. _I didn't do that the last time, so I thought I would do that this time. If you feel uncomfortable in reading it, just skip over it. **

**Also, I finally got a couple of beta readers! I'd really like to thank OkonoMiyagi and Ilikepie1079 for doing this, because my writing is usually a mess. **

**But yeah, I hope you guys enjoy this long awaited chapter!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything inside the Legend of Zelda franchise**

* * *

The time in which Link sat inside that room passed slowly, each minute dragging on for what seemed like an eternity. The silent child had been in the small confinement of this room for nearly a week, not once getting even the smallest taste of the outside world he longed to be in. There was no one here with him; escaping was certainly a very plausible option at this point, but there was the nagging feeling coursing through his body that prevented him from doing so. He wanted their trust, and he wanted them to trust him in return. Running away had always seemed like the answer to him, and at this point, it seemed to make hardly an ounce of sense.

No one knew he was here, minus those who had been with him when he first entered the Academy. Gaepora was extraordinarily focused on keeping his existence here hidden from his students, as well as the others who lived in Skyloft. He had overheard him telling Zelda not to breathe a word of him being here to anyone, even to a girl named Orielle. The name had a sort of familiarity in his mind that seemed like something that had been imprinted on it, but he couldn't grasp exactly where he knew it from. He knew that people would talk and rumours would start if people began to know more and more about who he was. There were very few people who lived in Skyloft to begin with; people would ask who his parents were. People would ask where he lived, who he was, asking for every seemingly insignificant detail about his life that he didn't want to give them, even if he could. There would be the rumours about how he couldn't speak, and people would twist it into a choice, rather than a disability that he's lived with for the entirety of his life.

The young boy sighed, resting his head on the feathery pillow that sat at the end of the bed. All he could really do was eat and sleep, and write with whatever Professor Owlan had left him. Things had been boring ever since Zelda went back to Primary; she was there for a majority of the day. He looked forwards to when the sun would fade and get replaced by the moon; it meant she would be returning back home soon. Zelda would tell him stories of what she did, and he would listen with interest at all that she said. She would grin happily as she told them, and he couldn't stop himself from doing the same. There wasn't a point in time where she seemed to treat him any differently for being the way he was. The mere idea of being treated as an equal was something foreign to the silent child, he had been thought of as an outcast and a failure for the beginning of his life.

Link drew his mind out of his thoughts, letting them return to the small space of the room that he sat in. He turned his body, letting his eyes fall upon the vines that snaked all around the room, tracing them from their beginning until they ended. A yawn teased at his lips, forcing them into a wide 'o' as he silently stretched. He threw his body weight off of the bed, letting his bare feet touch the cold stone floor beneath him. The young mute shuffled over to the desk, a smile playing at his lips as he saw the ink and parchment that laid upon it. He looked out the small window above his head, and the smile that hinted on his face grew prominent. The sun was beginning to give way to the darkness of night, which meant the return of his only real friend.

The boy daintily picked up the stark white feather that sat on the wooden desk, holding it carefully between his thumb and second finger. The thing felt so natural in his hand, like it was meant to be there. He dipped it in the nearly overfilled bottle of indigo ink, watching droplets of the substance fall back into the bottle as his smile stretched wider. He began to write, scribbling down meaningless words that had no connection whatsoever. He knew Gaepora was expecting him to give at least some sort of answer as to why he had only chosen to show his face now, rather than any other time in the past. He wanted to know every detail about his life, and that was something he wasn't willing to hand over to someone he had only known for six days. He had given him small details, things that didn't have any real meaning to them. He told him he lived on the island, he told him his parents were gone. He told them he had been on his own since he was three, and he told him that he had never once spoken a word to anyone. He wasn't going to delve into his past; it was something he would rather forget then relive for the sake of some man knowing about who he actually was.

He felt the tip of the feather snap underneath the pressure of his arm, causing him to drop the object in shock. He hadn't even realized he had been doing it. The mere idea of revealing everything about himself seemed so terrible to him that it caused him to -quite literally- snap.

He looked at the words scribbled on the paper. _Disappointment, failure, weak, broken, scream, deafness, monster, fear._ The words seemed to get more and more ragged as they dragged on, the harshness of his writing putting holes into the parchment itself. His eyes fell upon the broken tip of the quill, staring at the ink that shot out from it. The indigo bled down in streaks of varying sizes, giving them the appearance of tears.

Link stared in shock, looking at the manifestation of words that he had unconsciously written on the parchment. He felt his heart began to speed up, reaching a volume so loud it seemed almost equal to that of the thunder from the rare storm that led to his discovery. He grabbed the parchment, knocking the vial of ink down onto the ground. The glass cracked and shattered onto the ground, letting the violet blood stain the stone floor. Link tore the words to shreds, feeling tears stream down his face as he did so. They fell down to the papers that sat in his lap, dropping down onto the words. The tears rolled down the pieces, dragging dark lines down the page. The words mixed to the point that he could no longer read them, but the memory it seemed like a permanent imprint in his mind. He jumped out of his seat, not even flinching as he stepped on a shard of glass. The papers twirled down to the ground, creating chaos in the once calm room. Link walked over to the wall crawling with vines, his vision blinded by the tears that were streaming down his pale face. His throat felt raw, aching to let out even the smallest of noises that felt trapped inside of him. He opened his mouth, trying to force something, _anything_, to come out of his mouth. He sunk down the ground, gripping his hair in his hands, trembling at the thought of his past he was trying so desperately to avoid.

These episodes he had weren't uncommon. He had them often in his own home, but they never seemed as bad as they were now. The anxiety and pure panic he was feeling was something indescribable, something that seemed to only mirror when he was inside the cave. The eyes of the demon flashed in his mind, making the young boy slam his hand against the wall out of terror. His shoulder and face began to burn, the feeling of pain even more intense than it was before. Link clawed at his throat, desperate for any noise to alert someone of his situation. He knew Gaepora was gone at this point; he was flying to the island where Primary was. Professor Owlan was most likely teaching; classes didn't end until Gaepora returned with his daughter. The only two people who could possibly help him were nowhere close to him, leaving the panicking mute to his own devices.

Link collapsed to the ground, his face resting against the still-spreading ink. He watched as his tears dropped onto the dark substance, creating light rings inside of it. The young boy curled up into a ball, his arms nestled tightly against his rapidly rising chest. His breathes quickly grew ragged and shaky, but the boy couldn't tell where the constant trembling was coming from. He didn't dare close his eyes. He didn't want any darkness around him, not while his mind was in this fragile state. How long would it be until Gaepora returned with Zelda? Hylia, he wished that they would return soon. He didn't want to be alone anymore.

"Oh, how pathetic."

The voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard to the young boy. Why was _that_ here? Inside of the cave, his presence was something expected; peoples fears were always brought out inside of its never-ending darkness. But here, inside of the Academy, one of the safest places in the entire sky? His eyes drifted up, quickly meeting the emotionless orbs of the demon from the cave. He didn't see the entirety of the demon; he had only seen the top half of its body. Its skin seemed as paler than before, matching the tone of the feather before he broke it. He had failed to notice its pointed ears, the tip looking as sharp as a sword. The demon kneeled down, grabbing the boys face with its left hand. It pressed hard against his bony cheeks, making it feel like his jaw was splitting in two. It lifted his head out of the purple ink, giving the young boy a devious smile. Links eyes widened in panic. He began to smack the arm of the demon, not caring that its skin was like tiny needles that cut into his palms. Its eyes glittered in amusement, absorbing the fear that radiated off of the boy. It laughed menacingly, the very sound of it sending Link into a state of paranoia that felt inescapable.

"I was expecting more from you boy," it teased, throwing the boys head back against the ink covered ground. The indigo substance splattered against the top of his face. Link breathed sharply out of pain, but didn't bother in fighting anymore. He let his arms fall limply against the ground, feeling blood begin to seep out of his palms. The demon stood and kicked the boy in the stomach, laughing as he didn't even make a sound from the pain. "You got scared off by a couple of words didn't you? That meant I had to show up and remind you what fear _really_ is."

Link coughed, rolling over so his back was facing the demon. All he wanted was for Zelda and her father to return. Once they returned, the demon would disappear. It wouldn't dare show its face to any other people. It had left the last time when people had showed.

"Useless." it spoke, stretching its leg back to kick Link in the back. He brought his foot forwards, hard, nearly sending the boy face first into the wall. "Failure. Weak. Spineless. Broken." With every word that fled his fanged mouth, his tone grew harsher, grew louder, melding into a tone of seething hatred that attacked the young mute. He brought his foot back and kicked again. And again. And again. The pain that filled Link's body was agonizing, and he wanted nothing more than to let unconsciousness flood his mind and take him away from this place.

The demon laughed again, taking steps back towards the door. "You aren't even going to try to fight me, you spineless coward!_** Stand and fight me!**_" it roared, smashing his hand against the wall. The small shelves attached to the stone shook, dropping its contents down onto the ground. Vases full of plants smashed on the ground, spilling dirt and leaves onto the stone. Link felt tears begin to pour out of his eyes, his body shaking as it was racked with silent sobs. He felt too weak to move, too weak to even bring his knees closer to his chest. He prayed to Hylia above, hoping that the people he had put his trust into would soon return.

He sat there for what seemed like ages, listening to the harsh words that spewed out of the demon's mouth. "Broken. Failure. Weak." All the words repeated in an endless cycle, each one matched perfectly with a strike to his back. He was tired of fighting. He couldn't even bring himself to wince when he was kicked. All he could do was cough and wait for unconsciousness to wrap its heavy arms around him. He was wrapped in the arms of pain and emotion, two arms that held him in a bear hug and refused to let go.

The young boy heard a soft tapping on the door. Were they back? Did someone hear them from the floor below?

"Link? It's Zelda! I'm back!" the young girl said excitedly. The demon froze, its head turning shakily towards the door. It laughed silently, turning back towards Link. It pulled out its sword dangling from its hip, spinning it around in the air as black and crimson diamonds began to steam off of it. It snapped its fingers and disappeared; the only sign of its presence was the eerie laugh that softly echoed through the room.

He heard as the knock turned softly and the door began to open, the _creak_ made by the rusted hinges resonating around the now trashed saw as strands of bright yellow hair peeked in through the door, hiding Zelda' face. "Link?" she questioned again, a hint of doubt weaving its way through her voice. The wooden door hit the stone wall softly, causing the it to shudder slightly at the force. Zelda looked around the room, her bright blue eyes examining all the damage that had taken place while she was gone. Her vision drifted down, falling to the broken shards of glass that glittered in the rays of the setting sun. They almost looked like rupees. Her crystal irises traced them, following along the path until her eyes fell upon Link's form.

"Link!" she screeched, not really caring if the students inside the building heard her. She slammed the wooden door behind her, wanting to make sure that no one got inside while Link was hurt like this, even though she paid no attention to the volume of her voice . She scrambled over to him, scrunching down to her knees as she placed her hands on his shoulders. The young girl gently turned him over, looking down as his tear and ink stained face. He looked like he was hardly breathing, and even so, the breaths that he was taking in were ragged and shaky, looking like it hurt him to do so.

"Okay, Link, just listen to me. I'm gonna get daddy and he'll f-find Owlan, and it'll be good. Okay?" she said shakily, slowly rising to her feet. She heard a shard of glass break underneath her foot, which was luckily in a shoe for once in her life. She walked towards the door, never once taking her eyes off of Link as he laid on the ground. Zelda opened it quickly, bolting down the stairs as quickly as she could. She began to feel tears well up in her eyes. What had happened in the short time her father had been gone? It only took a clouds length to fly to Primary and back, and he had said Link was fine when he had left.

The young blonde sprinted down the spiral stairs, looking towards the kitchen in a desperate attempt to find her father. He usually went there when he returned, getting food for both Zelda and Link. He was forcing Link to eat in growing amounts each day, which Zelda had failed to understand at first. Her cluelessness had him eat both her portion, as well as his own. He had gotten sick later than night. The feeling of guilt she had experienced that day was enormous; she never meant to hurt someone that was already doing poorly. Her father had to explain to her that he couldn't eat because of his shrunken stomach, and eating too much would make him sick again.

The girl ran through the arched doorway, turning and facing the back of her father. She saw Henya standing beside the fire, poking at it with a metal rod. A toothless smile was plastered on her wrinkled face, making her dark eyes twinkle with mischief that mirrored the expression of a child.

The twinkling eyes of the elderly cook drifted over to the young girl. "Oh, hello Zelda! How was Primary" she questioned eagerly. Zelda watched as her father turned around, giving the young girl a look of confusion. She always went straight to Owlan's office when they returned, and usually didn't leave until Gaepora told her to go to bed. His eyes widened when he saw the tears that were beginning to well up in her blue ones. A feeling of dread punched him in the gut. What on earth had happened?

"Pardon me, Henya. I just recalled Owlan asked to see me to discuss a few things." he said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. The older man could often maintain a sense of tranquility at necessary times. But right now, when he was trusted with the life of a child the age of his own daughter, his confidence in himself was wavering.

He walked over towards his daughter calmly, placing a hand on her shoulder as he began to lead her back towards Owlans office. The two walked in synchronization, which was quite odd for two people of such drastically different heights. Gaepora felt his stomach drop even more when he saw Owlan's door open, practically asking for any person wandering to go inside and see Link. Why had Zelda been so careless?

"Why did you leave the door open, Zelda? You know Link doesn't want anyone to know about him, right?" he questioned her, speeding up his pace slightly. He looked at the wall that the open door allowed him to see, examining the vases that were toppled on their sides on the shelves attached to the wall itself.

Zelda didn't answer him. She sniffled loudly, letting her body release all the tears that she had been trying so hard to restrain. "S-something h-happened to L-Link again." she whispered, shaking her fathers hand off of her shoulder as she darted off towards the room, slipping through the narrow crack in the doorway. Gaepora's stomach dropped even further, letting the feeling of pure dread run through his entire body. He walked quickly towards the room, throwing the door open harshly. His eyes immediately fell upon Links form. The young mute looked as broken as he had when they had found him in the cave all those days ago. Was it the same thing that had attacked him then? The headmaster ran over towards the young boy, crouching down as he lifted him up in one fluid motion.

"Get Owlan." he ordered, not tearing his eyes off of the form of the injured boy. He heard Zelda's footsteps as she took off towards Owlan. He hoped that she could find him and get him here without alerting any of the students that resided here. The older man gently turned the mute boy over onto his back. The child winced, breaking off of his grip as he turned back onto his side once more. He curled up into a ball, far smaller than the one he was previously in. The Headmaster grinded his teeth nervously, trying to deduce how he could move the boy without disturbing his injuries. He slid his hand under his shoulder and lifted him; the impending sense of guilt weighing down on him as Link screamed silently.

"We're getting Owlan, Link. It'll be fine. Just stay awake for me, okay?" he asked, making the simple question sound more like a demand than anything else. Link struggled weakly, running in place in a desperate attempt to get away from the older man. Gaepora shifted his weight down, lifting Link's legs into the air as he rested his empty arm underneath them. The young boy cried harder, smacking his hand against Gaepora's chest. The boy wanted nothing more than to get away from all of them; return back to his house underneath the cliff where no one bothered him. Ever since he revealed his existence, he had been shown nothing but pain and suffering. Is this what was meant to happen? Was this a sign from Hylia, telling him to go back into his place of hiding?

Gaepora heard the door fling open, the wooden frame meeting the stone wall harshly. "I got Owlan, daddy!" he exclaimed, pausing in the middle of the doorframe. The slender man slipped past the small frame of the young girl, pulling her forwards as he grabbed the door and slammed it shut.

"What in Hylia's name happened?" Owlan demanded, gently grabbing Link from Gaepora's outstretched hands. The Professor shifted the boys weight, putting all pressure on his back. The blue eyes of the boy stretched wide as his face melded into a look of pain. He kicked his legs furiously, tears streaming down his face as he tried to break out of the man's grasp. "Stop, you brat! We're trying to help you, not hurt you!"

Zelda darted towards her father, hiding behind his leg in fear of what was happening. She watched as Owlan set the boy on the bed, watched as Link immediately flipped onto his side, back facing all of them."What happened to him?" she asked meekly, tugging softly on her father's oversized robe. Gaepora looked down at her, letting out a sigh as he ruffled her blonde hair. He always did that when he didn't know. She had seen it happen too many times this week alone.

"His back seems to be hurting him the most. Check it." Gaepora murmured to Owlan. He rested his chin on his fingers, waiting for Owlan to follow his instructions. The slender man sat down on the bed cautiously, trying not to shift the bed. He daintily grabbed Link's ragged shirts between his fingers, lifting it up towards his shoulders. The two men gasped in unison at the sight of the child's back.

Green and yellow swirls danced around his back, and although it was obvious that they were new, they could tell that they would soon worsen as the night dragged on. They were aligned in a nearly straight line, running up and down his spine. The protruding digits of his spine already had a darker hue to them, turning a color that matched the ink that was spilled on the floor. Owlan didn't dare touch them; he had already seen Link's reaction when he carried him on his back.

"Hylia above," Gaepora breathed, the words almost sounding like an ill-timed laugh. Owlan drew Link's shirt back so it covered the hideous bruises. He stood and walked to stand besides Gaepora, stepping in the puddle of purple ink and broken glass as he did so.

Gaepora patted his daughter's shoulder lightly, extending his free palm towards her as he walked over towards the bed. He looked down at Link. The boy stared at the wall, breathing raggedly as tears continuously streamed down his unnaturally pale face. His knees were tucked in close to his chest, with his arms wrapping around them like a box on a present. His hands were clenched into fists, knuckles turning white as they began to bead with sweat. He watched as he trembled with every breath he took in. The word traumatized couldn't even begin to describe how the child looked in this moment. He looked...

"Broken," Owlan whispered, placing his hand over his mouth as the words escaped his thin lips. Gaepora watched in horror as Link's eyes widened even further, stretching so large it looked as if his skin would tear. He ripped his arms off of his legs and clamped them over his ears, opening his mouth wide as he tried with all his might to scream at the top of his lungs. He looked like a Loftwing in captivity, screeching ferally in order to get away from his predators.

Gaepora shot Owlan a look, one so full of anger it practically bore holes through the white haired man. He stepped backwards, motioning for the Professor to do the same. The only thing the boy needed right now was space away from them. It was clearly obvious that something far beyond traumatic. There was nothing they could do to help him.

"I want everyone out of this room. We're not coming back in until tomorrow." Gaepora ordered, firmly grabbing his daughter's wrist as he began to pull her towards the door. He turned his head and looked at Owlan, his dark eyes meeting his nearly white ones. "We will alternate who stays awake by the door until the morning. If we leave him completely alone, something could happen again. I'm not risking anything until we know the threat is gone."

Owlan nodded, tucking his arms inside of his large sleeves. He drifted out of the room silently, holding the door open as Gaepora and Zelda slipped through. He looked back into the room one last time before he closed the door, watching as the child wiped the tears out of his eyes. He still stared at the wall intently, looking as though he was counting every speck that resided on the stone wall. He bowed his head as he closed the door softly, praying to Hylia that this boy who had done nothing wrong would be okay.

"I'll watch first. Take Zelda into my office." Gaepora said solemnly, resting against the space between his and Owlan's office. Owlan nodded, opening the large doors for the young girl as she quietly shuffled inside.

The blonde stopped in her tracks, turning around to face Owlan. "He'll be good, right?" she asked him, feeling more tears well in her eyes. She had been able to suppress them while she was in the room. Link was the one who was allowed to be crying in that moment. He was the victim; she was only an affected passerby.

Owlan stared down at the girl, trying to word his thoughts into a sentence that wouldn't devastate the girl. It was obvious he wouldn't be able to leave his bed for at least three days, and probably couldn't leave that room for another week. How could he possibly word this optimistically?

"Don't lie, Owl." she whispered, folding her hands together behind her back. Her tear-filled blue eyes stretched wide with concern, giving her the look that she was far older than her actual age, and yet simultaneously made her look more innocent. He sighed, fumbling around with the words that floated around in his brain. There were so many of them. He was torn between light and dark; lying to the girl to protect her, or telling her the truth as she asked.

In the end, all he could do was close his eyes and shrug.

* * *

Despite the exhaustion clawing at his eyes, Link didn't dare fall asleep.

Every time he closed them, all he could see were the dead eyes of the demon. All he could do was lay there, staring at the wall, trying desperately not to move his back. Just breathing hurt him; he had started holding his breath as long as possible so he didn't have to do it as often.

The smell of ink was beginning to overtake all of the room. The oddly sweet scent was nice at first, something that reminded him of the small place he deemed his home. Now it was something that was fear instilling.

He heard the door open. Link felt his body tighten in fear, and he wrapped his arms around his knees as a form of protection. He stared at the wall as if his life depended on it, waiting for the demon to throw its harsh words at him at any given time. The door closed softly, causing Link to realize something. The demon never used any doors. It teleported. It meant that someone he knew was in the room. It wasn't the demon. It was someone he could trust.

He felt the bed shift as weight as added onto the end of it. The weight was light, far lighter than Gaepora's massive body would permit him to do. Owlan, possibly. He was very slender, and this seemed to match when he sat down earlier. But when the weight shifted again, he knew it couldn't be Owlan. Owlan was too large to make his weight compress into that small area.

That only left...

"Don't get scared. It's just Zelda." the girl whispered, rising to her feet as she tried to step over Link's legs. His eyes drifted away from the wall, looking up to her face. Her blonde hair, typically wrapped tightly in ribbons, was falling into her eyes and down her shoulders. The girl sat down in the space at the end of the bed, smiling at Link the entire time.

"I never really got to talk to you today, so why not now?" she said excitedly, flipping over onto her stomach. She rested her head on her hands, giving Link the same, toothless smile she always did when she returned from Primary. She shifted her hand over her mouth, and a laugh began to escape her lips. It soon melded into full fledged giggles that her hand couldn't hide anymore.

"Sorry, you just look kind of funny!" The girls body racked with laughter that scraped at being loud enough for others to hear. Link felt his face grow hot as Zelda continued to laugh. Since when did he care if he looked funny or not? He couldn't help himself from sitting up, even though his back felt as if it were on fire.

"Grab the pillow, silly. You hurt your back bad." she said, pointing at the soft object that sat next to him. He reluctantly shifted over again, trying to move his back as little as possible as he did so. He wrapped his bony hands around the pillow as he threw it behind his back and leaned against it, letting a sigh of relief escaped his lips. He let his head drift upwards. He felt something drop in his lap, making his head shift back down. He blinked a couple times, looking down at a thin roll of parchment resting on his stomach. He looked over at Zelda inquisitively, only to let the look fade away as he saw the nervousness on her face.

"I can't write too good," she started, tearing her gaze away from Link's. She looked down at the ground, eyeing the pool of ink that was now a permanent part of this room. The shards of glass twinkled in the moonlight, making it look as though there were stars a few feet from the two of them. She smiled softly, looking back at Link. "But even though I'm not as good as you, I still did it!"

Link grinned, grabbing the parchment carefully. He unraveled it, looking at the ink that was running down the brown surface. He looked at the words that were hidden underneath scribbles of black ink. They were littered across the page, going in every imaginable direction. His eyes drifted down to the bottom, tracing the box that surrounded the only sentence that was free of any markings.

_**"I hop you feel gud, Link"**_

The mute boy blushed. It was nice of her to do something like this, even if she didn't feel confident in he slightest about it. He set the paper down next to him, looking back over at Zelda. She was looking intently at Link's face, waiting for his reaction from the message she had written him.

"Do you like it?" she questioned, shifting her weight so she was sitting cross-legged. Hear head titled to the side innocently as she waited for his response. Link closed his eyes and nodded, opening them as he heard Zelda squeal in excitement. He laughed, and a noise that sounded weirdly similar to a cough burst out of his mouth. He slapped his hands over it, staring wide-eyed at the blonde girl. She began to giggle again, pointing mockingly at his face. His mouth opened in an **_'o'_**, slightly surprised at the girls sudden teases. He poked her shoulder playfully, only to get the same action in response. The two laughed in synchronization, Zelda's bubbly laughter filling the space that Link's silent type failed to occupy. To any outsider, the two looked as if they had known each other for their entire life, not like they had known the other for not even a week.

Link calmed his laughter down, tapping Zelda lightly on the shoulder as she continued to laugh. "What?" she giggled, tilting her head to the side in a similar fashion as she did before. Link extended his arms towards the girl, giving her a small smile as he did so. Zelda stared at him in confusion, trying to process what the boy was trying to signal. The boy waved his arms around nonchalantly, waiting for the girl to understand what he was signaling. Zelda shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, not having the slightest idea at what Link was trying to say. Link breathed heavily out his nose, rolling his eyes excessively as he brought his arms closer together.

"Oh!" she realized, head bobbing in excitement. She leaned over and hugged the boy, being careful to avoid the injured part of his back. She drew herself back and leaned against the same wall Link had leaned on. Her hand drifted to the parchment. She picked it up and held it between her hands, studying all the words that she had tried to write. She blinked in confusion when Link waved his hand in front of her face; she was oblivious to the fact that she had drifted off into space. She blushed as Link silently chuckled at her, feeling embarrassed at her own actions. The boy gave the girl a full-toothed smile, something she had rarely seen from him. She pushed him in the shoulder lightly, however, the light push was enough to nearly topple the malnourished boy's over.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, awkwardly trying to help Link sit back up. Link raised his eyebrows in a teasing manner. It was weird having a conversation with a boy who couldn't speak. She always thought it would feel one sided, but it only made her realize how his facial expressions could express more than words ever could.

"Oh yeah! I was gonna tell you about Primary, right?" she remembered, smacking the boy lightly on the arm. She paid no attention as Link mockingly rubbed the spot she hit with a smirk, letting her mind put all she had done into words she could tell him.

Link no longer felt tired. He felt as though he could listen to Zelda talk about... anything, and it wouldn't bore. It was nice to listen to people, see emotions laced in voices that he couldn't pick up from books or see from far away. She went into every detail, even if they had no meaningful significance. She went on for a full clouds length about the story her teacher had read them, and he never once felt bored from the one he told her. The boy could feel himself growing less and less afraid. He felt safe when he was with Zelda. There was a familiarity about her that he couldn't quite understand, but he didn't mind it. It was something that he needed in this unknown place, something that he desperately reached for but could rarely have until this moment.

She talked about who she was friends with; people Link probably would never see in his life. She talked about that one boy, Groose, and how he refused to leave her alone. When she talked about that, her nose crinkled in disgust, giving Link a sense of comfort that seemed unnatural. He was almost... _happy_ that she didn't like him being around her, since Groose had hurt him when all he wanted to do was eat. But there was this nagging feeling, deep inside his chest, that was telling him that it wasn't the only reason behind his supposed happiness.

The night began to draw on far longer than the two anticipated. The sky was beginning to lose its dark hue, fading into a mix of violets and pinks that looked otherworldly. Link stared out the window, watching the sky melt into a blur of colors that were oddly captivating. He felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned his head, looking back at Zelda, who had a look of annoyance on her face.

"Hey! Didn't you hear? I have to go soon. Daddy thinks I'm in my room, and he likes to get up early. If I'm in here, he'll get mad." Zelda said, shifting her weight so she was on the edge of the bed. Link simply stared at the girl, feeling the sense of comfort get replaced by fear once more. She was leaving? He knew that he'd go back to the way that he was if she left. He shook his head, grabbing her wrist as she started to stand. She flipped around, her hair flying around her face in the shape of a fan. She tilted her head again, something that she had done very often in she short time they had known each other.

"What is it?" she asked, sitting back down on the bed. She twirled her blonde hair around her finger, letting her mouth stretch into a yawn that she didn't bother covering with her other hand. She looked at Link, her face melding into one that screamed concern as she saw the fear in his eyes. His face mirrored the face she had seen when she first came into Owlan's office; one that showed the trauma that he had endured. Even though only his hand was wrapped around her wrist, she could feel as he began to shake.

"_I'm scared_." he mouthed, releasing his grip on Zelda's wrist. He tucked his arm against his chest, letting his momentum carry him downwards. He curled up again, looking at the printed bedspread as he waited for Zelda to leave him. His eyes began to burn as he became conscious of his blinking, not wanting to succumb himself to any possible darkness. He felt tears begin to run down his face, ones that he was ashamed to let fall from his eyes. The heavy arms of sleep were trying to wrap themselves around him, but they were continuously pushed back by the fear that encased him once more. He was scared to sleep, but it was all he wanted right now.

He waited in silence, waiting for the sound of the door to open and close, signifying that he would be alone again. It seemed far more terrifying than the idea of the demon returning. He liked having space to himself...

But he hated being lonely.

He felt the weight of the bed shift again, and he suddenly felt the presence of someone next to him. His eyes drifted up and he saw Zelda there, laying on her back. Her eyes were closed, hands laid over her chest.

"I hope you know Daddy will get mad at me for this," she whispered. The false anger that laced through her voice was broken by her quiet laughs, making a small smile creep across Link's face. "Can you give me the pillow?"

Link blindly reached behind him, smacking the wall aimlessly as he tried to find the feathered object. His fingers wrapped around the corner of it, and he swung it over his body. He playfully hit Zelda with it, causing another fit of bubbly laughter to fill the room. She tucked the thing under her head and adjusted her head, turning her neck so she was looking back at Link.

"I know you're scared. I hate the dark sometimes. Just try to sleep, okay?" The last words that she spoke were barely audible, showing Link just how tired the girl was. He sat there in silence, listening to the sound of their breathing. He noticed that he was blinking again. Was he really not as afraid anymore? He felt the trembles in his body begin to cease. The tears were drying on his face. Everything that showed his terror was stopping.

And when Link closed his eyes, he was only met with dreams.

* * *

The soft rays of sunlight were streaming through the massive window behind his desk. Gaepora had spent the entire night reading through the books that he had forgotten about. Reading was a simple distraction for him, one that took him away from the severity of the real world he was living in.

He sighed as he turned the final page, skimming the final words that were scribbled on the brown parchment. He smiled at the conclusion, flipping the red cover back onto the book. He could hardly believe that it was actually morning. His eyes burned with every blink. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring his mind to a state of calmness to fall into the brink of exhaustion. He feared sleep itself, so it seemed. He feared that if he let himself slip away, something would happen to the child he swore to Hylia he would protect. He trusted Owlan, yes, but he couldn't bear the idea of just leaving him to his own devices like that.

He stood up and stretched, clutching the the leather-bound book in his massive hand. He ran a hand through his thinning hair, rolling his eyes at the dwindling number that remained up there. He could've sworn that this past week had caused a majority of his hair loss. He walked over to the large bookshelf and scanned it, looking for the small sliver of space where he could cram the thin book into. He didn't bother with the idea as he simply placed it on top. His mind was flurrying with so many ideas and scenarios that he didn't bother in concentrating anymore.

Gaepora opened the large doors and left his office, chuckling as he saw Owlan dozing off on the wall. He knew Owlan had given Link his bed, which meant he was sleeping on the wooden chair in his office. He didn't blame him for getting every second of sleep he could.

Gaepora scanned the room, narrowing his obsidian eyes as they fell upon Zelda's door. He knew that she hated having it open. She could have just forgotten about it and left it open, but that option seemed the least likely. He turned sharply and opened up the door to Owlans room, waiting to see if his suspicions were proven true.

And of course, they were.

The two children laid next to each other, Zelda stick straight, and Link curled into a ball. The two were breathing at a similar pace, looking calm in a time that seemed far from it. Link no longer looked scared. The tranquility painted across his face was something that he had never seen from the boy, and it was something that lifted the weight off of Gaepora's shoulders. Zelda looked as if she were protecting him, which seemed like something that would be reversed in the eyes of society.

He remembered that something Link had written earlier that week. Something about how he was terrified of the dark and the strange things that lurked in its depths. He had written a story to him as well, telling him that he had been afraid to sleep on the first night after that thing had attacked him. He said he was even afraid of blinking; every time he did so, the face of that thing would show up and haunt him. And yet, here he was, sleeping so calmly that it was something he would never see again in his life.

"Thank you, Hylia."he whispered, closing his eyes as he tilted his head towards the ceiling in gratitude. He looked back down at the two sleeping children, letting a meek smile spread across his lips as he exited the room again. He closed the door with a light _click_, chuckling to himself as he returned to his office.

The world he was living in didn't seem so chaotic anymore.

* * *

**Well, I finally wrote some sort of bonding between these two. What do you think of it?**

**There will be a couple of chapters in this minor story arc, probably ending in chapter 10 or something. I need to get this story moving now, since the first six chapters were spent in the same 24 hour period. **

**I cannot say for sure when the next chapter will be up, but I can promise that I will not delay it as long as I delayed this one. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Until next time, **

**PossiblyAGinger**


	8. Guardian

**There's a lot more notes in the bottom of the chapter. but I am sorry that this took so long.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Legend of Zelda franchise**

* * *

From that point, Link and Zelda would separate. The two, whether it be knowingly or unconsciously, spent every waking second in each others comforting presence. Zelda's cheeks would be aching at nightfall, strained from smiling far too much with her mute companion. Link would lay on his back and stare at the ceiling, desperately trying to claw words out of his throat that he could give to Zelda. He knew that she didn't mind their essentially one-sided conversations, but he would give anything to let words flow freely from his mouth without needing to carry a scroll and feather with him. The few seconds they would spend in silence were comfortable. It wasn't anything like what Zelda would experience with Groose. They could just sit underneath the tree where they met on the day of the storm, watching all the Loftwings soar through the sky gracefully, just happy to be in the same space as one another.

Zelda hummed softly, her heading bobbing back and forth with the tune of her melody. Link watched her out of the corner of his crystal eyes, letting the hint of a smile play at his lips. Her humming ceased when she noticed his staring. She stretched her arms above her head, letting them fall dramatically onto the ground. She craned her head back, looking straight up into the dark green leaves that danced in the morning breeze. "I wish that we could ride Loftwings now, Link. I want to fly!" she complained, rising to her feet clumsily. She kicked at the dirt path, not caring if it flew back onto her clothing.

The feeling of flying was indescribable, according to her father. It wasn't anything that you could really compare to. And although Zelda's fear of heights was waning, she ached for the safety net of a Loftwing.

She turned around and watching Link gather himself onto his feet. Even two weeks later, he still refused to wear shoes anywhere. The bottoms of his feet were always covered in dirt and grass. It was something that her father appreciated, since he could always see where he had went. And, more than likely, he could see where Zelda had gone as well.

The frail boy, who was looking healthier and stronger with each day that passed, wrapped his nimble fingers around Zelda's wrist. He pulled her towards the direction of the Academy. She stumbled over her feet, cautiously laughing as they neared the yellow building. He burst in through the massive doors, leading the girl up towards Owlan's office. He had yet to receive a room from Gaepora. Owlan didn't mind the presence of the young boy, quite the opposite, actually. The boy had an incredible memory for someone his age. Owlan could spew of the most unrelated facts about whatever plan was occupying his mind that day, and Link could remember every detail without flaw.

He opened the door harshly, wincing as it slammed into the stone wall. Gaepora was sure to scold him for that later. He walked over the the bed and motioned for Zelda to sit on it. She raised an eyebrow at his weird actions, but did it without asking any questions. She had come to realize that Link often acted on impulse, doing what he felt at that moment rather than waiting for a time that was convenient. He walked back over the door and shut it softly this time, the noise of the locks clicking into place almost inaudible. This earned a small giggle from the blonde girl, something that filled the still-comfortable silence.

She closed her eyes, swinging her legs back and forth on the edge of the bed. She listened to Link's light footsteps, and listened as he tried to move the wooden chair as quietly as possible. She heard the clink of the edge of the feathered quill as it hit the glass vial of ink, and smiled when she heard Link begin to furiously scribble on a piece of paper that was already on the table.

Link would get into moods like this often, drowning out the rest of the world as he wrote all of his thoughts down onto a piece of paper no bigger than his face. Gaepora would always end up reading what he wrote to her. She was learning how to read quickly, and yearned for the day when she could finally do it on her own. The two young children were different sides of the same coin; each wanting to learn something that could only make the other happier. Zelda to write, and Link to speak.

She flopped down onto the bed, opening her eyes to look at the mono-coloured ceiling. "Don't you want to fly, Link?" she questioned, not really expecting a response at this point. She was surprised when she heard a sudden thunk on the table, quickly followed by another. She raised herself up and stared at the boy. His head was inches above the parchment, eyes darting back and forth from one end of the page to the other. His eyes drifted up and met hers, but he never stopped writing. He tapped the desk twice again, nodding his head as he did so. He then tapped the desk once, a single beat that echoed around the room. His head then shook, and it was all Zelda needed to really understand. The two smiled, Zelda's a toothy grin that stretched all across her face, and Link's the soft smile that constantly dared to break past his calm demeanor.

"I'd really want a pink Loftwing. It'd be so pretty!" she sighed, laying down onto the bed again. She folded her hands across her chest, blowing the hair that laid in front of her eyes up into the air. She heard the soft tap of the quill resting on the table again. Link pushed the chair away from the table, making as much noise as humanly possible. He held the paper daintily between his index fingers. He motioned towards the door with his head, walking as if he were on air. She followed, gentle curiosity flowing through her veins. The two walked to her father's office, having to combine what little strength they had to open up the massive doors. Zelda watched as her father's head snapped out from the book he was currently buried in. His eyes twinkled as he saw the parchment resting in between Link's fingertips, wanting to know what words had come from the young boys mind. Link handed it to Gaepora without question, watching as his eyes quickly scanned up and down the paper. His eyes widened.

"You had a dream about your Loftwing? Already?" he question, the tone of his surprise genuine. Link nodded, and Zelda watched as the mute unconsciously tapped his hand twice against his leg. Gaepora cleared his throat, setting the parchment down on his desk as he rose to his feet. "How long ago was this. Last night?" Link nodded his head and tapped his hand once more, his eyes drifting to look down at his bare feet. Gaepora walked over to the door, opening it with ease. He placed his hand on Link's back, guiding him out of the door and into the hallway.

"Is Link gonna get a Loftwing, daddy?" she questioned, tugging softly on the sleeve of his multi-colored robe. The older man looked down at his curious daughter.

"I believe so. It's unusual for him to be receiving one at this age. He's the first one this year, even ahead of all those in the proper age." he mumbled, only the first part of his thoughts were loud enough for Zelda to hear.

Zelda nodded, whispering a barely audible 'oh' as she released her father's sleeve. She looked forwards, watching Link nervously walk in front of her father. His shoulder were scrunched up to his ears, obviously nervous about the mere thought of returning outside, especially to a place as populated as the statue. They were always outside when the other children were gone, early enough in the morning that few people would be outside in the first place. It was nearing a time when people began to wake and the village would become lively again.

Zelda picked up her pace, moving so she kept in pace with his panicked shuffles. She could hear that his breaths were quick and ragged, mirroring the ones that would only be linked to the nightmares that still plagued his mind when night fell. She reached down and laced her hand in his. His palm was clammy and she could feel the tremors that flowed through his body, occurring as quickly as his breaths did. He looked up at her with dilated eyes, ones that were stretched so wide it look like they would burst.

She squeezed his hand lightly, turning and looking at the door that led out to the bridge. "It's okay," she said softly, repeating the action as she did so. She hoped that Link understood what she was trying to do; the actions were so seemingly unconnected that she was beginning to realize how little sense they made in her mind.

Link took a deep breath and tapped his leg twice. He squeezed her hand again and didn't release his still-weakened grip, and showed no intention of doing so anytime soon. His shoulders began to slip farther and farther down, releasing the tension that was building up in his fragile body.

Gaepora began to walk faster, moving quickly so he stood in front of the door that lead to the bridge. He turned and looked at the two of them. They two fated children, bound together by something as obscene as a thunderstorm, were as opposite as black and white. Link's eyes were hidden by his shaggy chestnut hair, the anxiousness radiating off of his body in waves. A blush was creeping up Zelda's face, one that she was clearly unaware of. Her eyes twinkled with some sort of odd amusement, one that he couldn't place the origin of. The headmaster smiled to himself, kneeling down so he stood at eye-level with them.

"I understand that you are scared, Link," he started. Link looked up at the sound of his name, letting the soft locks fall out of his face as they revealed his frightened eyes. "This will have to happen eventually, you know. If you do it now, when no one knows you, there won't be as big a ceremony. It'll be Zelda and me, no one else. If you wait longer, I'll be required to bring along every person that you've met."

It was an odd system, really. The village was indeed small, only reaching a population of about fifty people. People always knew each other, whether it be through the bond of friendship, or gossip told by people lazing around in the Bazaar. It was strange that the gossip never mentioned a four year old boy that wandered around at night, stealing books from the Headmaster's office and food from the Academy's kitchen.

Link looked down at his feet and nodded. Gaepora raised his eyebrow as he saw Link's grip on Zelda's hand loosen and tighten one more. Zelda looked up towards her father, flashes of her teeth peeking out from her lips as she tried to hide them.

"He says okay, daddy." she giggled, swinging her and Link's hands back and forth vigorously. Link looked up at Gaepora with timid eyes, drawing his shoulders up towards his ears. The headmaster simply nodded and turned around, motioning for the children to follow him. He opened up the door; the weight of it seeming far more prominent than it ever really did. He blinked repeatedly at the bright rays of sunlight that pierced his dark eyes. The sky was cloudless, as it often was when a child was to receive their Loftwing. He could hear the soft murmurs of the early-risers, their calm conversations filled with tired laughter. The multicolored sky, one with tones of soft blues and yellows, emitted an aura of peace over the village in the sky. It was one that was often there, but never really appreciated unless taken into consideration.

He heard the patter of light footsteps as he watched Zelda take off, pulling Link behind her. The boy stumbled on his own feet as the girl laughed and smiled, throwing her head back in a state of joy.

"Zelda! Be care-!" he started, but his warning was cut short when the two children fell onto the ground. Zelda just continued to laugh as she jumped back onto her feet as if nothing had happened.

"Link, get up you lazy! You're gonna get a Loftwing! C'mon!" she persuaded, trying to pull the boy up onto his feet. She seemed far more excited about the whole situation than he did. Link smacked at her arm from the ground, trying to get her to release her grip. He pushed himself off of the ground, his face red and blotchy from the blush creeping up his face. It was obvious that it was from embarrassment; he had seen the boy do the same thing whenever he drew any unnecessary attention towards himself.

The two walked up the stairs, Zelda carefully guiding Link from behind. It took a while for Gaepora to finally realize that he was still stuck in his place, watching the two children as they interacted so smoothly with one another. He remembered the time when they had first met underneath the tree, when Link had been afraid to even (look) in her direction. He chuckled, his warm laughter filling the already warm atmosphere. A sudden stream of sunlight cast down and hit the massive statue that watched over their small village.

Gaepora's heart lightened, a feeling of sudden peace entering his body. It was right for Link to be getting his Loftwing at the age he was.

His soul was far too old for his body anyways.

"I've seen a couple of ceremonies before. There's this boy named Pipit that's a couple years older than us, and he got his last year. It was kind of early, like yours, but he got his when he was six. Daddy says that I watched my friend Ori's when I was a baby. I don't remember hers at all though!"

Zelda chattered easily as she and Link walked up the stairs. He still stayed a step behind her, his steps echoing her own. She didn't mind their one sided conversations. They flowed naturally enough that they weren't that big of a deal. She did long to hear Link speak sometime in the future. It wouldn't really bother her if he never did, though.

The two reached the top, and Zelda began to feel her heart creep up towards her throat. She was well aware of how high up they were. She had always felt a sense of unease when they went to the statue. It was a rare occurrence, yet she always had the same reaction each year. This one was toned down; she wasn't shaking or beginning to cry.

She suddenly felt a presence behind her, and her hand was wrapped in Link's own again. He was still trembling slightly, but it was obvious that he understood her fear. She looked over at him with a confused expression plastered on her face. He poked her in the shoulder, his finger light and feather-like. He then squeezed her hand and released it, then continued walking through the massive archway. Zelda stood there, trying to process what Link was trying to tell her.

_Me... and the signal for okay... I'm okay?_

She shook her head in a sign of defeat and ran after the mute. She looked up at the massive statue, one that seemed to touch the sky she wished to fly in. "Wow," she mused, her voice airy and in awe. She saw Link nod out of the corner of her eye.

She heard a sharp whistling from behind her, the same whistle her father made when he was calling his Loftwing.

"Link, are you ready?" he questioned, making the younger boy turn around. Link hesitated, taking in a breath that caused his chest to puff out to twice its normal size. He exhaled as he nodded, ignoring the waves of nervousness that were still coursing through his body.

Zelda watched as a shadow cast over them, one in the recognizable shape of a Loftwing. She looked up at the massive birds dark grey body, the one that she had flown on time and time again in the past. The Loftwing cawed as it landed gracefully next to her father. The Headmaster climbed onto the Loftwing, pulling the young boy along with him. And the two flew up towards the statue, heading for the ledge where the ceremony would actually take place.

Link's heart was pounding out of his chest. Yes, he was ready to get a Loftwing; it was something that he had wanted ever since he had first come to the floating village. He didn't know that this was the requirement that he had to face in order to get one.

The bird landed on the platform as gracefully as it had landed on the ground. The young boy timidly stepped onto the stone, fearing that it would break under his weight. Gaepora stood next to him, and the two watched as his bird began to circle the statue.

"Link, I need you to sit in order to perform this properly." Gaepora instructed. Link did as the older man told him to, ignoring his shaking legs. He looked down at Zelda, who looked miniscule from his position on the statue. He felt as Gaepora's hand rested on his head, and tensed up at the sudden action.

"Oh, great goddess Hylia, I ask that you guide this child with the gift of a guardian Loftwing. He has received your vision of aiding, one that shows his maturity for this gift. Send it down from the heavens so it can guard this child in his future years, and let if be a reminder that you guide over his life."

The Headmaster raised his hand off of the child's head and called for his Loftwing once more. He motioned for the boy to rise when the young child looked at him with confusion and doubt. They climbed onto the Loftwing once more and flew back to the ground, landing in the circular design in the middle of the sanctuary.

"Stand in the circle, Link. The Loftwing will show when you call for it. Just whistle as I did. Understand?" he smirked as Link nodded, stepping cautiously off of the large bird. He stood where Gaepora had told him to and raised his hand to his mouth and blew, letting a sharp whistle ring around the once silent air.

The three of them waited. Each second that passed was agonizingly long. There was still no sign of a Loftwing in the sky. Had Link been wrong? Was what he had dreamed not been the sign of a Loftwing?

Suddenly, a sharp caw was heard from above them. Gaepora looked up towards the sky, eyes widening when he saw the bird soaring down to its child master. The bright crimson of its wings was something that he had never seen, even in drawings.

_A bird as rare as the boy himself..._

It was only appropriate that he was gifted a Crimson Loftwing.

* * *

**I realize that this chapter is both shorter than usual and a filler. But a shorter update is better than none, right?**

**I'm so sorry that this chapter took longer than expected to release. my schedule is packed beyond belief and is insanely demanding right now. I'm doing school work, or volleyball, from eight am until when I go to bed at around eleven pm. I've had absolutely no time to write at all, and I apologize.**

**I cannot say how far apart the spacing between chapters will be from this point on, but they will be long. I'll get an update in every two months, if I'm lucky enough. again, I'm very sorry, but with three honors classes, an ap, and volleyball going on, there's enough on my plate as it is. I don't think volleyball will be as big of a problem in the future, but it was practically every day after school, I just didn't have any time. I'm sorry.**

**I will not abandon this story. It may take a long time to update, but I will never abandon it.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**-PossiblyAGinger**


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